Strawberry Heroes
by Count Morningstar
Summary: Jaden reunites with Shizuma and Nagisa and returns to Astraea Island to take part in the island's Founders Festival. Soon after arriving on the island though, a new threat connected to the Legendary Planet cards suddenly emerges. To stop this threat, Jaden must join forces with Shizuma and all the other Legendary Planet users before this new enemy plunges the world into chaos.
1. Forbidden Planet

**Introduction:** Of all the stories of done, two of my favorites are my original crossovers between Yu-Gi-Oh! GX and Strawberry Panic. They were two of the first fan fiction stories I had ever written, and while they may not be my best creations (in fact I may go back and give them both a bit of a polish at some point), I consider them both to be great triumphs. I mean the concept behind them was so simple and yet elegant! It was essentially minor surgery to turn a series like Strawberry Panic into a Yu-Gi-Oh story. Well, back during the summer of 2015 or 2016 (it was the year when _Jurassic World_ was in theaters), I managed to get my hands on the complete Strawberry Panic anime on DVD, and seeing that anime once again after so many years made me want to do a third crossover story.

So I began trying to figure out what sort of story this crossover would have, and after a while I realized I could do something involving the Legendary Planets from the GX manga. I had established Elemental HERO Terra Firma as Shizuma's ace monster in this continuity of GX, and in _Ritual of Doom_ I had used David Rabb, Reggie Mackenzie and Principal Mackenzie as part of the cast. So with four Planet users already established, a story involving all of the Legendary Planets made total sense. Of course first I had to establish a few other characters as Legendary Planet users, and a large part of the reason why _VR Duelists_ and _Viper's Grudge_ were written were to do just that. And now that I've finally gotten that task done, this crossover can now get off the ground.

Now before I get too far in, I should probably mention that I had to come up with a different backstory for the Legendary Planets in this continuity, so anyone expecting a story involving Tragoedia will unfortunately be disappointed. If I was going to do that, I would've had Principal Mackenzie as Tragoedia's pawn just like in the manga. And since that ship has already sailed, I had to come up with something new. I'm certain though that everyone will like the new origin of the Legendary Planets that I've come up with, and the new reason behind they were made.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX or Strawberry Panic.

* * *

Prologue: Forbidden Planet

It was very late in the afternoon as Amane Otori made her way back to the Strawberry Dorms. She had been out for the past few hours riding her horse and had lost all track of time. Amane's route took her past a cliff on the island that overlooked the ocean, and as she passed that spot she noticed a young woman standing near the cliff's edge looking out towards the slowly setting sun. She had long shiny black hair, porcelain skin and deep red eyes like the color of wine. The woman was wearing a St. Spica Academy uniform.

Amane instantly recognized the young woman as an old friend of hers, Akana Tsukasa. During Amane's first two years at the academy, Akane had been her roommate. They were quite good friends during that time, but then they ended up drifting apart; though not because of any fight between them. Part of it was due to the fact that Amane was often away from the island for duel tournaments and horse riding events. Then later when Amane had become involved with her girlfriend, Hikari Konohana, the divide between her and Akane became even wider. Of course there was another reason why Amane and Akane had become so distant, and it was a very painful one indeed.

Upon noticing the sad expression on Akane's face, Amane decided that now might be the perfect time for the two of them to reconnect. It seemed to Amane that Akane could really use a friend.

"Hey there, stranger," Amane spoke as she approached, getting the dark-haired girl's attention.

"So, the Prince of Spica has deemed to grace me with her presence," Akane responded somewhat coldly. "Do what do I owe this honor?"

"Hey! Don't be like that," Amane responded. "I know that you and I haven't talked in a long time, but it looked like you could really use a friend right now."

"Do you have any idea what today is?" Akane asked. "It's the anniversary of the crash."

And there it was, the main reason why Amane and Akane had drifted apart. A year before the professional duelist, Jaden Yuki had visited the island, a plane carrying a group of Spica students who had been selected to take part in a special tournament crashed into the ocean. There were no survivors. One of the students who had died in the crash was Akane's girlfriend, Mahiro Mizuki. Akane was totally devastated when Mahiro died, and ever since that time she was never the same as she once was.

"So if you don't mind, I would really like to be alone right now," Akane continued. "I can't stand to be around anyone on this day, least of all you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Amane asked.

Anger flared in Akane's eyes as she turned to face Amane. "Are you really that clueless? Not only are you the most successful duelist on the island, you have a lover to share that happiness with. Meanwhile all I have is a gaping hole in my chest that'll never heal. The last thing I need is to be around someone who reminds me of everything I could've had but don't."

With that, Akane stormed off before Amane could utter a single world. Amane watched as her old friend walked away and let out a heavy sigh. For a moment, she thought about going after Akane, but in the end decided that there would be no point since Akane would likely not want to listen to a single word she had to say. Besides, it was getting late and she needed to get back to the dorms. She didn't want Hikari to start worrying about her.

* * *

The sun was finally starting to set as Akane walked along the beach at the island's edge. She had been walking for hours, not really paying attention to where she was going. She just needed to get away from Amane and had somehow made it down to the beach. As Akane finally took a good look at her surroundings, she saw something directly in front of her that sent a stabbing pain through her chest. It was an old abandoned lighthouse that had been on the island since before the three academies had been founded.

That spot by the lighthouse had been one of Mahiro's favorite places on the island. It was a place where the two of them could be alone, since hardly anyone came near the old lighthouse. Being back at that place brought back so many memories for Akane, memories that were incredibly painful because of their happiness. They were reminder of everything that Akane had lost. And with today being the anniversary of Mahiro's death, that lighthouse was the last place Akane wanted to be at the moment.

Akane was about to head back for the dorms when the door to the lighthouse suddenly opened on its own. This was quite the surprise, as the lighthouse door had always been locked. Akane's curiosity ended up getting the better of her grief, and after a moment's hesitation she decided to go in and have a look. Many times both she and Mahiro had often wondered about what the inside of the old lighthouse was like. Now seemed like as good a chance as any to finally find out.

Upon entering the old lighthouse, Akane's nose was hit by the musty odor of dust and years. The small high windows on the walls provided a dim lighting to the place, enough for Akane to see what was inside. Scrawled all over the walls in cursive were several lines of mad ramblings that seemed to be just one long sentence. Much of it seemed to be in a language that Akane didn't understand. Though it was hard to tell in the dark, the writing seemed to go up the wall all the way to the very top of the lighthouse.

It deeply unsettled Akane to learn that the lighthouse that was Mahiro's favorite place seemed to hide such a dark secret. Akane didn't know who wrote all those words on the wall, but it seemed clear that the person was totally insane. She was about to leave to the place and try to forget that she ever saw the mad script when suddenly a wooden door in the far wall right across from her opened on its own. In the darkness beyond that door, Akane saw a spot of multicolored light. Once again, Akane's curiosity got the best of her and she decided to go and investigate.

Akane made her way down a small staircase that seemed to lead into some kind of storage cellar. There on a pedestal against the far wall of the cellar was a Duel Monsters card inside a glass case giving off a strange multicolored aura. That aura was the source of the light that had drawn Akane into the cellar. Against her better judgment, Akane decided to go over and take a closer look at the card.

The card was a Fusion Monster of the Light attribute known as The Invader X. As Akane's examined the card's text through the glass case, she saw that the card's effect had a special condition that classified it as a Legendary Planet monster. This greatly surprised the dark-haired girl, as she knew about the Legendary Planet monsters, and this card was not any of the ones she had heard of. The ten cards that she knew about were based on the sun and the nine planets of the solar system. As Akane pondered this mystery, she wondered if perhaps this card was based on the old science fiction concept of Planet X, a theoretical tenth planet of the solar system that was often used as the home world of hostile aliens bent on attacking the Earth for one reason or another.

Akane removed the glass case so she could take the card back with her in order to examine it more closely. The moment she touched the card though, the aura surrounding it suddenly turned white and traveled up her arm. Akane cried out as a brilliant white light surged through her entire body. After a few moments, the light finally faded and Akane staggered back a few steps. As she regained her balance, Akane looked at the card she was now holding and a series of strange thoughts suddenly occurred to her.

Looking at The Invader X, Akane thought about Amane and how her old friend had the happiness that she had lost. She then thought about how she could make Amane feel the same pain and sadness that she lived through every day. But it wouldn't just be Amane though. It occurred to Akane that she could perhaps somehow make everyone in the world experience that same pain. And as Akane had these thoughts, a mad smile came to her face and her eyes began to glow with a strange multicolored light.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Those of you reading have probably noticed that Akane's backstory is pretty similar to Shizuma's. That of course was deliberate. Anyway, The Invader X was indeed inspired by the fabled Planet X, but the inspiration also comes from a recent sci-fi movie that came out back in late February. Let's see if anyone reading can guess what movie that was. The fact that Akane found the card in an abandoned lighthouse is a major hint.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	2. Heroes of Space and Earth

**Author's Note:** It sort of goes without saying that this story will be making numerous callbacks to Ritual of Doom, VR Duelists and Viper's Grudge, so anyone who hasn't read those stories yet may be a bit lost.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX or Strawberry Crisis.

* * *

Chapter 1: Heroes of Space and Earth

It was mid-morning as Jaden Yuki stood out on the roof of Duel Academy America looking out at the city. He was once again thinking about his old friend and archrival, Chazz Princeton. Almost a month ago in New York, Jaden along with Chazz, his girlfriend Alexis Rhodes, and his friend Axel Brodie encountered an old enemy from Jaden's past, Professor Thelonius Viper. Viper had captured the four of them and forced them to take part in a survival game deep in the jungle. Jaden had managed to defeat Viper, but an ally of Viper's that appeared to be another incarnation of the Light of Destruction had appeared and captured Chazz.

Since then, Jaden had been spending time at Duel Academy America with Alexis in order to recover from the whole experience. During that whole time, Axel had been off searching for where Chazz might've been taken to, and in all those weeks Jaden hadn't heard a single word from him. Of course he knew that Axel hadn't had a lot to go on when he began his search. They didn't even know the name of this new incarnation of the Light. Even so, Jaden found himself becoming more and more concerned as time passed.

"You really do like this spot, huh?" a voice suddenly spoke.

Jaden turned around to see a young woman in a Duel Academy America uniform with straight dark-red hair that went halfway down her back and striking green eyes. This student was a friend of Jaden's from his last visit to the academy, Sheila Tate. With Sheila was another young woman with long silky black hair, porcelain skin and stunning violet eyes. This was Sheila's girlfriend, Tabitha Greene.

"It's a good place to think," Jaden responded. "So what brings you two up here?"

"Principal Mackenzie sent us here to come get you," Sheila explained. "He wants to see you right away."

"What's it about?" Jaden asked.

"He didn't say, but it seemed important," Tabitha answered.

Jaden suddenly became a little bit nervous. He didn't think he was in trouble with Principal Mackenzie, but he couldn't entirely dismiss the possibility. Jaden let Sheila and Tabitha lead the way to where the principal was waiting for him. In a few short minutes the three were out in the courtyard behind the school. Waiting for them with his hands folded behind his back was a dark-haired man with bushy eyebrows and a strip of beard on his chin. This man of course was Principal Mackenzie. With the principal was a young woman with blonde hair whom Jaden instantly recognized as his girlfriend, Alexis Rhodes.

"Ah! Jaden. Good of you to come so quickly," Principal Mackenzie spoke.

"Hi Mr. Mackenzie," Jaden responded. "I hope you didn't ask me here to tell me that I've overstayed my welcome or anything."

"Not at all," Principal Mackenzie assured him. "I and the academy owe you a great deal for how you saved us from the terror of Electra Darkling and Zott."

"So then what's up?" Jaden asked.

"We have a little surprise for you," Alexis answered with a wink.

"Hello Jaden," a familiar voice spoke from behind.

Jaden turned around, and standing before him was a dazzling young woman with long silver hair, porcelain skin, and mysterious golden eyes. She had on a red leather jacket with a black shirt, blue jeans and brown cowboy boots. A duel disk not unlike Jaden's was on her left arm. Jaden recognized this young woman as his old friend from Astraea Island, Shizuma Hanazono.

"Shizuma!" Jaden enthusiastically responded. "This is a surprise."

"Hi Jaden!" spoke a young woman with red hair and reddish-brown eyes that popped up from behind Shizuma. She had on a pink leather jacket with a white and red-stripped shirt and a short blue skirt and boots nearly identical to Shizuma's. This was Shizuma's girlfriend, Nagisa Aoi.

"Hey there, Nagisa," Jaden spoke. "I knew you couldn't be too far behind. So what are you two doing here at Duel Academy America?"

"We'll get into that here in a bit," Shizuma answered. "For now though, I thought you and I could have a little duel. What do you say?"

Jaden grinned and raised his own duel disk. "Game on!"

With that, Nagisa and the others stepped back in order to watch. Meanwhile, Jaden and Shizuma activated their duel disks and drew their opening hands.

"Nagisa, you and Shizuma couldn't have picked a better time to show up," Alexis told her. "A duel like this is just the thing to cheer Jaden up."

"Cheer him up? What's been the matter with him?" Nagisa asked.

"Now that you mention it, the guy has seemed a little gloomy since he got here," Sheila realized. "Do you know what the deal is, Ms. Alexis?"

"It's… a long story," Alexis responded as her expression saddened a bit.

"As they say, ladies first!" Shizuma declared as she drew her first card. "I summon Phantom Magician in Defense Mode!"

Appearing on Shizuma's side of the field in a kneeling position was a small skeletal creature wearing a tattered black hooded cloak. A plain white mask covered his face, and in his right hand was a small magic wand.

"That ends my turn!" Shizuma announced.

Jaden drew his first card. "I summon Elemental Hero Sparkman in Attack Mode!"

Materializing on Jaden's side of the field was a warrior clad totally in a blue bodysuit with gold lines running down the sides of his arms and legs like lightning bolts. A blue visor totally covered his face, and on the warrior's chest was a piece of gold colored armor. Attached to the armor on the warrior's back were two large almost wing-shaped blades.

"I attack Phantom Magician with Sparkman!" Jaden announced. "Static Palm!"

Sparkman dashed across the field as blue electricity began to build in the palm of his right hand. When he got in range, the hero smashed his electrified hand into Phantom Magician's mask. Upon being hit, Phantom Magician shattered into particles of gold light.

"When Phantom Magician is destroyed, I can summon a Hero monster with 1000 or less ATK from my deck!" Shizuma announced. "I summon Elemental Hero Woodsman in Defense Mode!"

Appearing in Phantom Magician's place in a kneeling position was a muscular warrior with light-green skin and orange eyes. His right arm looked like it was made from part of a tree, as did his right leg. He had on a tattered green kilt and a green boot on his left leg.

"Wait, this Shizuma uses Elemental Heroes too?" Tabitha observed with a raised eyebrow.

"A Hero vs. Hero duel, huh? This should be interesting," Sheila declared.

"This duel will be more interesting than the two of you think," Principal Mackenzie told them. "Ms. Hanazono is a professional duelist who's made quite a name for herself. She's defeated the likes of other professionals like my daughter, Reggie. And it's even rumored that she once defeated the legendary Seto Kaiba."

"It's no rumor," Nagisa told them. "I saw Shizuma's duel with Kaiba back in Paris."

"Wait, really?" a stunned Alexis exclaimed. "Suddenly I'm not so sure if Jaden has a chance."

"I lay down a face-down and end my turn!" Jaden announced.

Shizuma drew her next card. "Using Woodsman's effect, I add Polymerization to my hand! Next I activate Polymerization and fuse Woodsman with Elemental Hero Clayman and Elemental Hero Lady Heat in my hand to summon Vision Hero Trinity!"

Appearing on Woodsman's right was a young woman with blue eyes and bright orange hair styled to look like flames. She had on a sleeveless white and red spandex outfit with a flame motif and a very short orange cape. Meanwhile covering her forehead was a large red flame-shaped crest with gold trim and a small dark-green gemstone on the front. Materializing on Woodsman's left meanwhile was a hero clad in bulky stone-like armor with a dark rosy tint. On his face was a round red mask.

The three heroes jumped high up into a transparent vortex in the sky above. Dropping down out of the vortex a few moments later with a loud thud was a large warrior clad in futuristic red armor. He had a pair of blades on his back similar to wings. The front of the new hero's helmet had a large red lens for an eye, and on the front of his chest was another red lens. Two larger lenses were also built into the sides of the hero's shoulder armor.

"During the turn Trinity has been Fusion Summoned, his ATK doubles from 2500 to 5000!" Shizuma announced. "Trinity! Attack Sparkman! Trinity Crush!"

The lens built into Trinity's chest extended out to become the barrel of a cannon, as did the large lenses built into his shoulders. The cannons pointed down at Sparkman, and the lenses began to glow. A loud humming noise could be heard as the cannons charged up.

"I activate my face-down card, Super Polymerization!" Jaden announced. "I discard one card from my hand and fuse Sparkman and Trinity to summon Elemental Hero Escuridao!"

Suddenly the sky darkened and a swirling vortex of clouds appeared above. The wind picked up and both Sparkman and Trinity were pulled into the air, swirling around and around until they were pulled into the vortex's center. Then the vortex vanished with a blinding flash of lightning, and a new warrior dropped down to the battlefield. This new hero had a slender body covered in pitch-black armor. Two long forked and jagged blades jutted out from the hiss back, and in place of his right hand was a weapon with three jagged blades. An unearthly blue aura emanated from the dark warrior's body.

"Escuridao gains 100 ATK for each Hero in my Graveyard," Jaden announced. "Since there are two Heroes in my Graveyard right now, his ATK is at 2700!"

Shizuma smirked. "In that case, I'll set a card on the field and end my turn."

Jaden drew his next card. "First I play Pot of Greed and draw two more cards. Then I activate O – Oversoul and summon a Hero from my Graveyard! I summon Elemental Hero Neos!"

Appearing next to Escuridao was a green-eyed warrior in a white alien body suit. Parts of his suit were dark-blue and his hands were black. A red line ran over parts of the warrior's body, and in the center of his chest was a dark-blue gemstone. Three red triangles surrounded the stone on his chest with the points facing away. There were white spikes on his elbows that curved upward, and another large white spike that curved backward grew from the top of the warrior's head.

"Neos! When did you…? Oh. You discarded Neos earlier when you used Super Polymerization," Shizuma realized.

"Yep. Of course now I only have one Hero in the Graveyard, which means Escuridao's ATK drops to 2600," Jaden continued. "Next I play the Field Spell, Neo Space!"

In an instant, the courtyard was transformed into a vast sea of stars filled with swirling multicolored clouds like a nebula.

"While Neo Space is on the field, Neos gains 500!" Jaden announced. "Next I summon Neo-Spacian Flare Scarab in Attack Mode!"

Materializing next to Neos was a humanoid beetle-like creature covered in a navy-blue exoskeleton. He had a cream-colored face and neck, and a large horn attached to the exoskeleton covering his head in the shape of a T. On his back was a split shell covering two sets of transparent wings. The creature's chest and parts of his upper arms and legs were a lavender color.

"I return Neos and Flare Scarab to the deck to contact fuse them into Elemental Hero Flare Neos!" Jaden announced.

Both Neos and Flare Scarab flew high into the air and quickly vanished from sight. A few seconds later, Neos dropped back down to the field in a new form. His body was covered entirely in a black and orange-red exoskeleton. On the sides of his head were horns like the tusks of a stag beetle, and on his back were the two halves of a split shell with an orange-red interior.

"Not only does Flare Neos also gain 500 ATK from Neo Space, he also gains 400 ATK for each Spell and Trap card my opponent has on the field!" Jaden announced. "Flare Neos! Attack Shizuma directly!"

"I activate my Trap, Negate Attack!" Shizuma announced as a ball of flames like a miniature sun began to form in the palm of Neos's hand. "This card cancels Neos's attack and ends the Battle Phase!"

As soon as the fireball he had created became large enough, Flare Neos fired it across the field at Shizuma. Just as the projectile was about to hit though, it was sucked into a transparent vortex that had vanished as quickly as it appeared.

"Guess I'll lay down a facedown and end my turn," Jaden announced.

"This is really turning out to be one heck of a duel," Sheila remarked. "So far neither one of them has lost any life points. I can't figure out who's gonna win."

"It'll likely depend on Shizuma's next move," Tabitha responded. "I get the feeling that she has another Hero just as powerful as Vision Hero Trinity."

Shziuma drew her next card. "I summon Elemental Hero Ocean in Attack Mode!"

Materializing on Shizuma's side of the field was a blue aquatic-looking warrior with yellow eyes and a single fin on top of his head. Pieces of silver armor covered his waist, and in his right hand was an ornate blue spear with two blades at the top that formed the shape of a U.

"I activate the Spell card, Miracle Fusion and fuse Ocean with Woodsman in my Graveyard to summon Elemental Hero Terra Firma!" Shizuma announced.

Ocean flew into the sky alongside a ghostly image of Woodsman into a transparent vortex that had formed above the battlefield. Dropping out of the vortex with a loud thud a few seconds later was a gigantic muscular warrior with a body that looked like it was made of white stone. In the center of his chest was a red gem, and he had three blue gems embedded in the tops of his head and shoulders. From his back grew two spike-like protrusions with flat tips and edges, and from the sides of his waist grew two small rods.

"Whoa! A Legendary Planet monster?" a stunned Sheila observed. "I totally wasn't expecting that."

"You haven't seen anything yet," Nagisa told her. "Shizuma is just getting started."

"Next I activate Parallel World Fusion and return Ocean and Woodsman to the deck to fuse them again into Elemental Hero Absolute Zero!" Shizuma announced.

Another warrior dropped down from above and landed on the field next to Terra Firma. This hero had green eyes and was clad almost totally in shining white ice-like armor. Hanging from his back was a long white cape.

"I activate Terra Firma's effect!" Shizuma announced. "By sacrificing Absolute Zero, Terra Firma gains his ATK until the end of the turn!"

Terra Firma grabbed the other hero by the shoulder and held on tight. The hero of ice turned into white energy and went into Terra Firma's arm. The red gem in the center of the earth hero's chest began to glow. Soon after, both Flare Neos and Escuridao suddenly became frozen in a thick layer of ice and shattered to piece.

"When Absolute Zero leaves the field, all of my opponent's monsters are destroyed!" Shizuma announced.

"And since Absolute Zero also had 2500 ATK like Terra Firma, his ATK has been doubled to 5000," Tabitha observed.

"This must be the combo that defeated Seto Kaiba," Sheila assumed.

"Terra Firma! Attack Jaden directly!" Shizuma commanded. "Magma Slash!"

Terra Firma grabbed onto the rods growing from his waist and pulled, revealing that they were actually the handles of swords with blades made of blazing hot fire. With both weapons in hand, the hero began to charge towards Jaden, causing the earth to tremble with each step.

Jaden smirked as Terra Firma came in striking range. "I activate my Trap! Negate Attack!"

Just as Terra Firma swung down one of his fiery blades towards Jaden, a transparent vortex appeared in front of Jaden and repelled the attack, nearly knocking the weapon out of the hero's hand.

"Well, looks like I have no choice but to end my turn," Shizuma announced. "And with the end of my turn, Terra Firma's ATK goes back to normal."

"You're really enjoying yourself, aren't you?" a familiar voice asked Jaden. Jaden looked to see his Duel Monster spirit partner, Yubel standing beside him.

"You bet," Jaden quietly responded. "Guess I needed a duel like this after everything that happened with Chazz and Viper."

"Well I'm glad. Alexis and I have been a little worried about you," Yubel told him.

"This really is one crazy duel," Sheila declared. "Neither one of them has lost a single life point so far."

"It may all end on the next turn though," Tabitha responded.

Jaden drew his next card. "I summon Elemental Hero Stratos in Attack Mode!"

Appearing on Jaden's side of the field was a blue-skinned warrior with dark-blue armor covering his chest and white armor covering his legs. On his head was a white helmet with wing-like blades on the side and a green visor that totally covered his face. On the warrior's back was a pair of large mechanical wings with propellers.

"Since Stratos was summoned to the field, I use his effect to add Elemental Hero Neos back to my hand!" Jaden announced. "Now I play the Spell card, Ancient Rules and use its effect to special summon Neos back to the field!"

On cue, Neos reappeared on the field in his original form. Both Neos and Terra Frima looked at one another from across the field as though they were sizing one another up.

"Just like before, Neos gains 500 ATK from Neo Space," Jaden continued. "And now I equip Neos with the Spell card, Neos Force, giving him another 800 ATK!"

Neos clenched his right hand into a fist, which began to glow with an otherworldly blue light. In response, Terra Firma moved to brace himself for Neos's attack.

"When Neos destroys a monster while equipped with Neos Force, he deals damage equal to the destroyed monster's ATK!" Jaden announced. "Neos! Attack Terra Firma! Force of Neo Space!"

Neos charged across the field and leapt into the air as Terra Firma crossed his arms to try and block the attack. Despite the earth hero's efforts though, Neos's glowing fist connected with his face and knocked him onto his back. Terra Firma shattered into particles of gold light and Shizuma's life points plummeted to a mere 200.

"Stratos! Attack Shizuma directly!" Jaden commanded. "Hero Typhoon!"

The propellers in Stratos's wings began to spin at high speed and sent forth two powerful twisters at Shizuma. The silver-haired duelist was hit but remained standing, yet her life points still dropped to zero. With the duel at an end, Neos and Stratos vanished and the surrounding area changed back to its original form.

"That's game!" Jaden declared as he did his trademark victory pose.

Shizuma let out a soft chuckle. "You really got me good that time, Jaden. Next time though, it'll be much different."

"Aw! I really thought Shizuma would win that one," Nagisa spoke. "But at least she had fun."

"So did Jaden," Alexis added.

Suddenly the sound of clapping filled the air, causing Jaden and the others to look. Standing a few feet away was a man with long silver hair that grew to cover the left side of his face, wearing a red suit. Jaden instantly recognized this man as the creator of Duel Monsters, Maximillion J. Pegasus.

"Oh wonderful!" Pegasus praised. "Exactly the kind of performance I was expecting from the two of you."

"Mr. Pegasus? What're you doing here?" Jaden asked.

"Pegasus is actually the one who brought Nagisa and I here," Shizuma revealed.

"It's actually rather convenient that you're here at this academy Jaden, as it saves me an extra trip," Pegasus spoke as he walked towards him. "You see I came to invite you to attend a special event on Astraea Island, the Founders Festival."

"The Founders Festival?" Jaden repeated.

"It's a celebration to honor the founding of the three academies on the island, Miator, Spica and Lilum," Pegasus explained. "And of course as I am one of the founders, I will be attending. Shizuma and Nagisa will be attending as well due to being two of Miator's top students."

"Okay, but why am I invited?" Jaden asked.

Pegasus chuckled. "Oh really Jaden! Do you have to ask? You saved that island not once but twice from the terrors of Zorc and the Orichacos. Because of that, you've become something of a legend on the island. Therefore it's only natural that you be invited to take part in the celebration."

"You are, by the way, welcome to bring Ms. Rhodes along," Principal Mackenzie added.

"Well Lex?" Jaden asked.

"I've always wanted to see the Astraea Island duel academies," Alexis admitted. "But it is up to you."

"Well then, I say let's go!" Jaden decided.

"Splendid!" Pegasus praised. "I just knew that you would attend."

"I have been invited to attend the festival as well, due to being an old friend of one of the other founders, Erich Muller," Principal Mackenzie revealed.

"Erich Muller? Where have I heard that name before?" Jaden asked.

"He's the one who created the Legendary Planet monsters, like Terra Firma," Alexis reminded him. "I didn't know that he helped to found the three academies though."

Principal Mackenzie turned to Sheila. "Ms. Tate, you are invited to attend the festival as well."

"Huh? Why me?" Sheila asked.

"When I told Mr. Pegasus about the honor that I bestowed on you recently, he insisted that an invitation be extended to you," Principal Mackenzie explained.

"Just because of that? Really?" Sheila responded.

"You are of course welcome to bring Ms. Greene along if you wish," Principal Mackenzie added.

"Well babe? How 'bout it?" Sheila asked.

"Um, sure. It might be interesting," Tabitha agreed.

"Then it's settled!" Pegasus declared. "In two hours, the eight of use will depart on a plane for Astraea Island! Now then, I have a few things to get done before we leave, so I'll be off for now. Ta-ta."

"It sure will be great to be back on the island again," Jaden declared.

"I hope so," Yubel spoke as she reappeared between Jaden and Alexis.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Alexis quietly asked.

"Well I don't mean to be negative, but something bad usually happens every time Jaden and I visit that island," Yubel answered. "Plus the fact that Pegasus is involved makes me even more suspicious."

"C'mon Yubel. You're worrying too much," Jaden told her. "I just know that this trip is gonna be a blast."

* * *

Akane had been feeling a bit groggy all morning. After her little discovery at the lighthouse the day before, she had gone straight back to the dorms and fallen asleep. Since waking up, it felt like her head was full of cotton. She seemed to have trouble remembering the events of the previous day, other than going into the lighthouse and the sheer fact that it had been the anniversary of Mahiro's death. Trying to remember the rest of the day though had been like trying to remember parts of a dream. As Akane turned a corner in the hallway, she nearly ran straight into Amane.

"Oh! Sorry Akane," Amane spoke. "I didn't see you coming."

"Don't worry about it," Akane responded. "I should've been paying more attention to where I was going."

"So you doing any better since yesterday?" Amane asked. "You seemed like kind of a wreck when we talked."

"We talked?" Akane asked.

"Yeah, at the cliff. Remember?" Amane reminded her. "You feeling okay?"

"Um… yeah. I'm just a little out of it today for some reason," Akane answered. "I probably got too much sleep or something. I'll be okay though."

"Okay. Well, I have a meeting to get to," Amane responded. "It's times like this when being Etoile has its drawbacks. Well, see ya later."

As Amane walked off, Akane reached into her pocket and pulled out her deck. The card for The Invader X had been added to it. As Akane looked at the card again, her eyes began to glow with a strange multicolored light and a small crazed smile graced her face. She suddenly remembered a thought she had from when she had first found the card.

"Soon Amane," Akane whispered. "Very soon I'll show you… and everyone else on this damn island… a hell unlike anything you can imagine."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I hope that everyone enjoyed this first chapter of the story. If all goes well, Chapter 2 should be up either later this week or sometime next week. It all kind of depends on whether or not there are any sudden changes to my work schedule. So until next time, please stay tuned.

In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.


	3. Astraea Reunions

**Author's Note:** I honestly did not think I would be able to post this chapter today. I mean I had planned on having it up today, but yesterday I ended up getting called in to work an extra shift at my job, so that caused me to lose a lot of time. Plus this turned out to be a really long chapter! Get ready for a mountain of character introductions followed by a lot of summoning scenes.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX or Strawberry Panic.

* * *

Chapter 2: Astraea Reunions

Within a few short hours, Jaden and the others boarded Pegasus's private jet and were soon on their way to Astraea Island. The flight was turning out to be a very peaceful and uneventful one. Though from his seat, Jaden noticed that Shizuma seemed a bit on edge ever since getting on the plane. At one point the plane was rocked by some gentle turbulence, which caused Shizuma to become a bit more agitated. The silver-haired duelist seemed to calm down quite a bit though when Nagisa squeezed her hand.

"Never would've pegged Shizuma as someone who was afraid of flying," Yubel remarked as she appeared behind Jaden's seat, propping her elbows on the headrest.

"Me neither," Alexis responded from her seat next to Jaden's. "I don't know her quite as well as you do, but she usually seems so cool and confident."

"Yeah, but Shizuma has always been kind of mysterious," Jaden pointed out. "The only person here who truly knows her is probably Nagisa."

"Hey Jaden?" Sheila spoke as she suddenly approached. "Mind if I ask you something?"

"What's up?" Jaden asked.

"Well, it's about Shizuma and Nagisa," Sheila quietly began. "Are those two… a couple?"

"Pretty much," Jaden confirmed.

Once more the plane was rocked by more gentle turbulence that passed almost as quickly as it occurred, causing Shizuma to tense up again. Sheila and the others noticed as Nagisa kissed Shizuma on the cheek, causing her to calm down a bit.

"Well, they certainly seem pretty open about their relationship," Sheila noted. "I kinda wish that Tabitha was more comfortable with public displays of affection."

"Are things between you two okay?" Alexis asked.

"Yeah, it's just sometimes I don't know why Tabitha and I have to sneak around, if you know what I mean," Sheila answered. "But I totally can't blame her, what with being raised by those super religious parents of hers."

"Just give Tabitha some time," Alexis told her. "She may eventually get more comfortable with the idea of other people knowing about your relationship."

"You're probably right," Sheila agreed with a sigh. "Still, there are times when I miss when she was the uninhibited cultist who lured me into the basement of the abandoned dorm and… well, you can guess what happened."

"Yeah," Jaden and Alexis said together.

"So, what are the academies of Astraea Island like?" Sheila asked.

Jaden and Yubel exchanged a look. "You know Sheila… I think you and Tabitha are really going to like being on the island."

Within another few hours, the jet landed on an airstrip on the far edge of the island. As Jaden and the others disembarked, they found waiting for them a tall tomboyish young woman with short blue hair wearing a Spica uniform. Jaden instantly recognized the young woman as Amane Otori. With Amane was a shorter young woman with long blond hair also wearing a Spica uniform. This was Amane's girlfriend and Etoile partner, Hikari Konohana.

"Welcome to Astraea Island," Amane greeted as Jaden and the others approached.

"Amane! Hikari! It's good seeing you again," Jaden responded.

"It's really good seeing you again too, Jaden," Hikari replied.

"Hi Hikari!" Nagisa spoke. "It seems like forever since I saw you last."

"Same here," Hikari agreed.

"Amane, it seems like being Etoile really agrees with you," Shizuma observed.

"Thanks. I hear you've really made a name for yourself as a pro," Amane responded. "Is it really true that you defeated Seto Kaiba?"

"I hate to interrupt, but shouldn't we be getting on our way?" Principal Mackenzie asked.

"Oh come now, Herbert. You can't blame old friends for wanting to chat," Pegasus told him.

"No. Principal Mackenzie is right," Amane responded. "Right now we're supposed to be taking you to the reception that's been arranged for those visiting for the festival. Most of the other guests have already arrived."

"Then by all means, let's be off," Pegasus decided.

Jaden and the others were escorted into a pair of limos that were waiting to drive them to the reception. Within a few minutes, they had arrived at the front of St. Spica Academy. Amane and Hikari escorted the eight to the courtyard out behind the school. They found the place already swarming with students and faculty from all three academies.

"If the rest of you don't mind, Mr. Pegasus and I are going to visit with the faculty members," Principal Mackenzie decided. "The rest of you enjoy yourselves."

"Hikari and I need to get going as well," Amane told them as Pegasus and Principal Mackenzie left. "We'd love to hang out, but the two of us have some things to take care of. Being Etoile does have its drawbacks."

"We totally understand," Shizuma responded. "We'll catch up with you two later."

"I think Tabitha and I are going to go off on our own and check this place out," Sheila decided soon after Hikari and Amane left. "We'll see you guys later."

With that, Tabitha and Sheila left and quickly melted into the crowd.

"Guess that just leaves the four of us," Shizuma observed.

"Didn't think I'd run into you two again so soon," a familiar voice spoke.

Jaden and the others turned, and standing before them was a young man with dark skin and dark hair, wearing a black leather vest with fringe, along with a sleeveless red shirt, long tan cargo pants, and black combat boots. He had what looked like a large yellow gun holstered to his waist. This was another of Jaden's old friends, Axel Brodie.

"Axel!" Jaden responded. "What're you doing here?"

"Officially I'm just another guest, but Pegasus hired me to help provide security for the festival," Axel revealed. "Of course I'm not sure if security is really needed."

"Who's your friend, Jaden?" Nagisa asked.

"Oh! Nagisa. Shizuma. This is Axel," Jaden introduced. "He's an old friend of Alexis and mine from our academy days."

"Nice to meet you ladies," Axel spoke as he bowed to the couple. "Any friend of Jaden's is a friend of mine."

"So Axel, any news about Chazz?" Jaden asked.

"I'm afraid not," Axel answered as his expression became grave. "But like I told you and Alexis, we don't have a whole lot of leads to go on. I've got a friend looking into where Chazz might be though, since I'm pretty much stuck here for the festival. I gotta say though, I highly doubt he'll have any more luck than me."

"We understand," Alexis replied. "Just do your best."

"You can count on it," Axel assured them. "Well, I better continue making my rounds. Later."

"What was all that about?" Shizuma asked as Axel left.

"Another friend of ours, Chazz Princeton, was captured not too long before you and Nagisa showed up at Duel Academy America," Jaden explained. "It's kind of a long story really."

"Chazz. He's that rival of yours from the academy you told us about once, right?" Nagisa recalled. "Who captured him?"

"Some new enemy of mine," Jaden answered. "We hardly know anything about her though, which is why Axel is having so much trouble finding where she might've taken Chazz."

"No wonder you seemed so down when Shizuma and I showed up," Nagisa realized.

"Well this is a surprise," another familiar voice spoke. "I was wondering when I'd run into you again, Jaden."

Jaden and the others looked, and approaching them was a young woman who looked to be about seventeen. She had long straight ocean-blue hair that grew half way down her back and striking orange eyes. Her outfit consisted of a sleeveless blue shirt with buttons down the front, along with a pair of tight black jeans and a pair of boots that appeared to be made out of snakeskin. Her belt had a rectangular buckle engraved with the skull and crossbones symbol of a pirate flag. Around her left upper arm was a tattoo made of several intricate black lines, and mounted on her forearm was a black duel academy-style duel disk with blue trim.

"Lena Rogers," Jaden identified. "I never expected you to show up here."

"I got an invite to this festival right out of the blue," Lena revealed. "And since there haven't been any big tournaments lately that have been worth my time, I decided to attend."

"Lex, Lena was one of the people who helped out when Blair was stuck in that Kaiba Corp simulator," Jaden revealed. "Lena, this is my girlfriend, Alexis Rhodes."

"Aren't you the prize hunter that they call the Pirate Queen?" Alexis recalled as she shook Lena's hand.

"Guilty as charged," Lena confirmed.

"Hello Lena," Shizuma spoke. "You're looking quite well."

"Well, Hanazono. Guess coming to this little festival was worth it after all," Lena responded. "This'll be a good chance for me to pay you back for that defeat you handed me back in Dallas."

"You're welcome to try," Shizuma responded.

"Yeah, well… I think I'm gonna go try and mingle or do whatever it is people do at these things," Lena decided. "Catch you later, Jaden."

"That was sure a surprise," Jaden quietly declared as Lena walked off. "I wonder who else has been invited to this thing."

"Jaden Yuki!" yet another familiar voice called out.

Jaden looked, and walking towards him and the others was a young man with blonde hair wearing a Duel Academy America uniform. Jaden instantly recognized who the man was and was not very pleased to see him.

"David Rabb," Jaden identified as the young man approached.

David stood face to face with Jaden and glared down at him. "It's only right that I thank you for saving me and the rest of my academy from that witch, Electra. Even so, that doesn't change the fact that you and I have a score to settle. I'm going to pay you back double for both of the defeats you handed me, especially the one from our very first duel."

"I'm in no mood to deal with you right now, Rabb," Jaden told him.

"Fine. This isn't the place to settle our score anyway," David replied as he smirked and adjusted the brim of his hat. "But just know that you're on my hit list."

"Am I on that list of yours too?" Shizuma asked.

"Shizuma Hanazono. I've got a score to settle with you too," David confirmed. "How convenient for two of my major targets to gather in one place like this. I'll leave for now, but know that this isn't over."

With that, David walked off. Jaden breathed a sigh of relief after he was gone.

"We free him from Electra's influence and he's still a jerk," Yubel remarked as she appeared next to Jaden.

"He hasn't mellowed even one bit," Alexis responded.

"Why would he have?" Shizuma asked. "He's still just as big a jerk as when Nagisa and I first ran into him."

"Yo! Sis!" another very familiar voice called.

Alexis and the others turned, and walking towards them was a young man with slightly long dark-brown hair wearing a burgundy jacket with a white shirt and black jeans. This was Alexis's older brother, Atticus Rhodes. With Atticus was a young woman in a Duel Academy America uniform with short blonde hair and a small beauty mark located near the corner of her left eye. This was Atticus's girlfriend, Reggie Mackenzie.

"A-Atticus?" a surprised Alexis responded. "You were invited to the festival too?"

"Actually Mac was the one who got the invite," Atticus revealed as he pointed a thumb at Reggie. "I'm just here as her plus one."

"Alexis. Jaden. It's good seeing you both again," Reggie told them.

"You too, Mac," Jaden replied. "You're looking well."

"Well Mackenzie, I suppose you have a score you want to settle with me too," Shizuma assumed, not looking at all pleased to see Reggie.

"Oh! Shizuma Hanazono. I didn't really realize you were here," Reggie responded as she rubbed the back of her head. "Um, now that you mention it, it might be nice to have a rematch with you sometime. I remember that you gave me a real challenge. Plus it'd be kind of an honor since it seems those rumors of you beating Seto Kaiba seem to be true."

Shizuma blinked in surprise. "Uh… yeah."

"So I thought I saw you guys talking to David just a minute ago," Atticus revealed. "Was he giving you problems?"

"He mentioned that Shizuma and I are both on his hit list," Jaden answered.

"Once a creep, always a creep," Reggie remarked. She then noticed Nagisa looking at her with a slight glare. "Hey, you're Shizuma's girlfriend, Nagisa, right? I hope David didn't make any threats against you too or anything."

Nagisa blinked in surprise. "Um… no. I don't think he even noticed I was here."

"That's good to know," Reggie responded. "A cute girl like you really doesn't need that kind of harassment."

"Oh Mac! You might like to know that your father is here on the island too," Alexis informed her.

Reggie's expression suddenly darkened. "He is, huh? Excuse me."

Atticus watched as Reggie unexpectedly walked off. "Uh, excuse me you guys. We'll talk later."

With that, Atticus quickly walked away to catch up to Reggie. Meanwhile both Nagisa and Shizuma were left looking totally confused.

"That woman seemed way different from the last time we saw her," Nagisa observed.

"Yeah. She was much less of a bitch," Shizuma agreed. "Jaden, do you know anything about Mackenzie's personality change?"

"Well, that's kind of a long story too," Jaden began as he rubbed the back of his head. "It started the first time I ever visited Duel Academy America…"

"Jaden Yuki!" yet another familiar voice called out. The sound of it caused both Jaden and Nagisa to tense up.

"That… isn't who I think it is, is it?" Jaden asked.

"Oh no!" Nagisa groaned.

Jaden and the others turned, and standing a few feet away pointing a finger at Jaden That someone was a young man with slightly long spiked dark-blue hair and pine-green eyes. His outfit consisted of a short-sleeved powder-blue dress shirt with a short red necktie and a brown leather vest, along with a pair of black slacks and polished black shoes.

"Oh god! This sap got invited to the island too?" Yubel groaned.

"You know this guy?" Alexis asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah. He was another one of the people who helped rescue Blair," Jaden answered.

"At last we meet again!" the young man spoke as he approached. "Now I, Hiroki Kitami, will take you down and prove my superiority over you!"

"Hi Hiroki," Jaden responded with an insincere smile. "Sure is a surprise seeing you here. How've you been doing?"

"There's no getting away from me this time, Jaden Yuki!" Hiroki ranted. "You may have gotten the better of me by sheer luck once before, but this time I shall…" He stopped when he finally noticed Shizuma standing there. "YOU!"

"Not again," Nagisa sighed as she put a hand on her forehead.

"So! It seems that fortune truly is smiling on me today!" Hiroki declared. "When I received my invitation to this festival, I came somehow hoping that I would finally encounter you once again! Now at long last I can finally defeat you and prove my strength over you once and for all! Prepare yourself, Shizuma Hanazono! This time you have truly met your match!"

"Do I know you?" Shizuma asked, causing Hiroki to trip over.

"How… how can you not remember me?" an outraged Hiroki asked as he got back up. "It's me! Hiroki Kitami! We dueled each other once before! We even met again briefly after I showed Jaden Yuki mercy and helped him rescue his friend!"

"Hiroki… Hiroki… oh! Now I remember," Shizuma spoke. "You're that old school friend of Nagisa's from before she attended Miator. How have you been? Are you seeing anyone?"

Hiroki began to tremble as though he were about to have a massive seizure. "How… HOW DARE YOU? You dare mock me by pretending not to remember me? Prepare yourself, Hanazono! This time I will crush you so badly that you'll regret the day you ever decided to become a duelist! Now, prepare yourself!"

"That's enough, Hiroki!" Nagisa interrupted.

Hiroki blushed upon seeing the redhead. "Uh… Nagisa! I, uh… uh… I didn't think I'd run into you here too. What're you doing here?"

"What do you mean what am I doing here?" Nagisa responded. "Shizuma's my girlfriend, and my old academy is on this island."

"Oh… well… well I must ask you to stand aside," Hiroki told her. "I have a score to settle with both Hanazono and Jaden! I will not rest until I have proven myself by defeating every Hero user out there!"

"Is that so, huh? Then I guess that means I'll be one of your opponents too," Nagisa decided.

"What're you talking about?" Hiroki asked.

Nagisa pulled out her deck and revealed the top card to Hiroki, showing it to be a monster called Elemental Hero Shadow Mist. "I use a Hero deck too."

Hiroki's eyes went wide with shock. "You… you must be joking! Nagisa… why…?"

"So are we doing this, or what?" Nagisa asked as she loaded her deck into her duel disk. "If I win, then you have to agree to back off."

Hiroki's expression darkened. "Alright, Nagisa. I will duel you, for I will deny you no wish. But… even though it will be painful, I will do whatever I have to in order to defeat you. And by doing so, I hope that I will finally realize that I'm worthy of you."

"Let's just get this over with," Nagisa responded as she activated her duel disk.

Right away, everyone attending the reception gathered around to watch the duel that was about to unfold.

"Well, this is certainly an unexpected twist," Pegasus remarked to Principal Mackenzie as he took a sip from the glass of white wine he was holding. "I didn't think a duel would suddenly break out here."

"It's only natural," Principal Mackenzie replied. "After all, with so many duelists gathered in one place, odds are always good that a battle will break out between them."

"Who the hell let that drip, Kitami onto the island?" Lena asked no one in particular.

"You know the guy about to duel Jaden's friend?" Axel asked her.

"Yeah. You're about to witness one of the most pathetic duelist in the world in action," Lena told him.

"Will someone tell me what's going on here?" Alexis asked.

"Short version: Hiroki is a childhood friend of Nagisa's who always harbored a crush for her," Yubel explained. "One day, Nagisa came home with Shizuma on her arm, shattering Hiroki's heart and at the same time causing the poor guy to question his manhood. So he straight up challenged Shizuma to a duel to try and win Nagisa back, only to get creamed. Since then he's been relentlessly challenging every Hero deck user left and right in order to prove his worthiness."

"Wow! That's… kinda sad," Alexis spoke.

"Not the word I was thinking of, but yeah," Yubel agreed.

"Shizuma, do you really not remember Hiroki at all?" Jaden asked. "I mean the two of you even dueled each other once."

"Well if I defeated him, it's not surprising that I don't remember him," Shizuma indifferently responded. "I mean a lot of my fallen opponents kind blend together. The memorable once like Lena, Rabb and Mackenzie stick out of course, but the rest are all pretty much a blur. Plus Hiroki just seems so… plain."

"I'll be going first!" Nagisa declared as she drew her first card. "I summon Phantom Magician in Defense Mode!"

Right on cue, a skeletal masked magician in a tattered hood and cloak appeared in a kneeling position on Nagisa's side of the field.

"I set one card on the field and end my turn!" Nagisa announced.

Hiroki drew his first card. "I activate the Spell card, Graceful Charity! With this card, I draw three more cards from my deck and discard two! Next I summon Marauding Captain in Attack Mode!"

Materializing on Hiroki's side of the field was a warrior with light-brown hair and stubble on his face. He was glad in grey medieval armor, and hanging from his back was a tattered red cape. In his right hand, the warrior carried a sword.

"Using Marauding Captain's effect, I special summon Queen's Knight to the field!" Hiroki announced.

Appearing next to Marauding Captain was a woman with long blonde hair wearing red armor. Atop her head was a pointed red and purple helmet decorated with the black mark of a spade on the front. In her left hand, the female warrior carried a sword, and in her right hand was a red diamond-shaped shield decorated with the four different kinds of playing card suites.

"I equip Marauding Captain with Lightning Blade, raising his ATK to 2000!" Hiroki announced.

Marauding Captain's sword suddenly glowed with a blue light as it began to change shape. When the light faded, the blade had become much wider at the top, and the guard of the sword had become more ornate. The blade was also giving off sparks of blue electricity.

"I attack Phantom Magician with Queen's Knight!" Hiroki announced. "Queen's Blade!"

Queen's Knight charged across the field and slashed Phantom Magician right down the middle, splitting the skeletal mage in half. The two halves quickly shattered into particles of gold light.

"Because Phantom Magician was destroyed, his effect lets me summon a Hero monster from my deck!" Nagisa announced. "I summon Elemental Hero Shadow Mist!"

Appearing in Phantom Magician's place was a slender female warrior clad almost entirely in shining black armor. She had a white mask-like face with red eyes, and long straight purple-blue hair with white tips growing through the back of her helmet. Black tights with black knee-high metal boots covered her legs, and hanging from the front and back of her waist were long pieces of tattered grey cloth.

"When Shadow Mist has been special summoned, her effect lets me add a Change Spell card from my deck to my hand!" Nagisa announced.

"I attack Shadow Mist with Marauding Captain!" Hiroki announced. "Electric Slash!"

"I activate my Trap, Hero Barrier!" Nagisa announced. "This card cancels an attack on an Elemental Hero!"

Just as Marauding Captain came in striking range, a grey baton appeared in front of Shadow Mist and began to spin like a propeller. The whirling rod repelled the swing of the warrior's sword, nearly knocking it out of his hand. With Marauding Captain's attack thwarted, the baton stopped spinning and vanished.

"I will set one card on the field and end my turn," Hiroki announced. "But don't think this will discourage me, Nagisa! Before this duel is over, I will prove that I'm worthy of you!"

"Oh brother," Nagisa responded as she rolled her eyes.

"This certainly is a change from the Normal Monster deck Nagisa used in that tag duel Jaden and I had with you long ago," Alexis told Shizuma.

"So she's really using a Hero deck," Jaden observed. "Shizuma, did she switch to this deck because of you?"

"Not exactly," Shizuma answered. "I did ask Nagisa if the reason she wanted to use a Hero deck was because she was trying to imitate me, but she told me that she truly felt that the only way to become a stronger duelist was to make a Hero deck all her own. Truth be told, she was actually inspired to use this deck because of you. Nagisa said that you're one of the strongest duelists there is. She admires you quite a bit."

"Wow. I had no idea," Jaden responded.

"Of course Nagisa's Hero deck is much different from the ones that you and I use," Shizuma told him. "As you'll soon see."

Nagisa drew her next card. "I activate the Spell card, Mask Change! This card lets me use a single Hero monster I control to Fusion Summon a Masked Hero of the same attribute! I use Shadow Mist to summon Masked Hero Anki!"

Shadow Mist suddenly grabbed her face with her right hand as she did a backflip while her entire body glowed with a purple light. Upon landing, Shadow Mist became enveloped by a pillar of purple energy that shot up from the ground and faded soon after to reveal a muscular male warrior clad in a black costume with a grey chest. On his head was a black and red helmet designed to look like the head of an ogre, with a black visor that totally covered his face and resembled an open mouth, and had a single grey horn on the forehead. The warrior had a gold marking on the front of his chest and a golden belt with a red buckle. His fingers were tipped with red claws, and he had two curved red claws on the front of each foot.

"When Shadow Mist is sent to the Graveyard, her second effect lets me add an Elemental Hero to my hand!" Nagisa announced. "I use her effect to take Elemental Hero Heat from my deck! The I summon Elemental Hero Heat in Attack Mode!"

Appearing next to Anki was a muscular warrior clad in a white, red and yellow costume with a flame motif. Covering his face was a yellow and white mask with green eyes, and on his head was a red helmet with a three-pointed crest on the front.

"Heat gains 200 ATK for each Elemental Hero monster I control, including himself!" Nagisa announced. "Which means right now his ATK is at 1800! Anki! Attack Marauding Captain! Oni Kick!"

Anki jumped high into the air and struck Marauding Captain with a powerful flying kick to the chest. The force of the attack caused Marauding Captain to drop his sword and shatter into particles of gold light, along with his weapon. Hiroki's life points dropped to 3200.

"When Aki destroys a monster, he lets me add another Change Spell card to my hand!" Nagisa announced. "Now I activate the card I just added to my hand using Anki's effect! Form Change! By sending Anki back to the Fusion Deck, I can summon another Masked Hero with the same level but a different name! I use Anki to summon Masked Hero Dian!"

Anki did a backflip towards Nagisa as he began to glow with a silvery light. Upon landing, the ogre hero began enveloped in a pillar of silver energy that faded to reveal a muscular female warrior in a grey costume. Covering her chest was a large piece of silver armor with a blue diamond fitted near the bottom, and on her head was a silver helmet with a three-pointed crest that covered the top half of her face and bore a blue gemstone in the center. A long flowing blue cape hung from her back, and she had on a short blue skirt that was open in the front. In her right hand, the warrior carried a large silver rapier with a lance for a blade and a blue diamond fitted into the guard.

"Dian! Attack Queen's Knight!" Nagisa commanded. "Dispersion!"

In a flash, Dian cut Queen's Knight in half with her sword. The two halves of Queen's Knight instantly shattered into particles of gold light, and Hiroki's life points dropped to 2000.

"When Dian destroys a monster in battle, her effects lets me summon a level four or lower Hero straight from my deck!" Nagisa announced. "I summon Elemental Hero Stratos!"

Appearing next to Heat was an alternate version of Stratos that was colored red instead of blue. The visor covering his face was purple, and his wings were gold instead of grey.

"Because Stratos was just summoned to the field, I use his effect to add another Elemental Hero to my hand!" Nagisa announced.

"I activate my face-down card, Scapegoat!" Hiroki announced. "Using this card, I summon four Scapegoat Tokens in Defense Mode!"

Appearing in front of Hiroki were four stuffed animals resembling sleeping sheep with gold curved horns. One of them was blue, another was pink, the third was yellow and the final one was orange.

"I use Stratos to destroy one of the Scapegoat Tokens!" Nagisa announced. "Hero Typhoon!"

Stratos blasted the blue Scapegoat with twin twisters blown from the propellers in his wings. The stuffed animal was instantly shredded to bits by the attack.

"I now activate another copy of Mask Change from my hand!" Nagisa announced. "I use Stratos to summon Masked Hero Divine Wind!"

"Say what!" Hiroki exclaimed.

Stratos flexed his muscles as he began to glow with a green light. A split second later he became enveloped by a pillar of green light that shot up from the Ground, fading moments later to reveal a warrior clad completely in a green and white costume. Totally covering his head was a lizard-like mask with large red eyes and a single short horn on the tip of the snout. Hanging from the hero's back was a long white cape. On the front of both his palms was a round red gemstone

"I use Divine Wind to attack another one of the Scapegoats!" Nagisa announced. "Tornado Palm!"

Divine Wind flew forward as the air surrounding him gathered into gem on his right palm. When he got in range, the green hero slammed his palm into the face of the orange Scapegoat. The blast of swirling wind from the gemstone shredded the stuffed animal to pieces.

"When Divine Wind destroys a monster, his effect lets me draw another card!" Nagisa announced. "Now I activate the card I just drew, Form Change! I send Divine Wind back to the Fusion Deck to summon Masked Hero Anki back to the field!"

Divine Wind did a backflip towards Nagisa as he began to glow with a purple light. Upon landing, the green hero was enveloped by a pillar of purple energy that quickly faded away to reveal Anki.

"I use Anki to destroy the third Scapegoat Token!" Nagisa announced. "Oni Kick!"

Anki leapt into the air and struck the Yellow Scapegoat with a powerful flying kick that caused it to instantly disintegrate.

"Using Anki's effect, I add another copy of Mask Change to my hand!" Nagisa announced. "Now I use Heat to destroy the final Scapegoat Token! Ember Stream!"

Heat blasted the Pink Scapegoat with a stream of red flames from the palm of his right hand. Upon being hit, the final stuffed animal token burned away to nothing.

"Now I activate Mask Change and use Heat to summon Masked Hero Goka!" Nagisa announced.

Heat clutched his face and did a backflip towards Nagisa as he began to glow with a red light. Upon landing, the hero became enveloped in a pillar of flames that soon faded to reveal a warrior clad in red and black armor. The mask covering his head had two large blue insect-like eyes and a cream-colored jaw. He had a white chest, and the large pieces of armor on his shoulders were styled to look like flames. The red buckle of his belt resembled the Japanese symbol for fire.

"Dang!" an amazed Axel exclaimed. "I don't think I've seen a duel quite like this."

"I just one turn, that girl destroyed six monsters," an equally stunned Lena observed. "And she still has one monster left that can attack."

"It seems that young Ms. Aoi is just as skilled as her partner," Principal Mackenzie observed.

"She's a special girl, that Nagisa," Pegasus remarked. "It's a privilege to see how much she's blossomed."

"I had no idea that Masked Heroes could be so powerful," Jaden remarked.

"Since cards like Mask Change and Form are both Quick-Play Spells, Nagisa can use them right in the middle of battle," Shizuma pointed out. "This allows her to pull of a series of relentless attacks. To be honest, I think she might even be stronger than me at this point."

"And this coming from a woman who beat Seto Kaiba," Alexis quietly remarked.

"Goka gains 100 ATK for each Hero in my Graveyard!" Nagisa announced. "Since I have three Heroes in the Graveyard right now, his ATK goes up to 2500!"

"If Nagisa's next attack gets through, Hiroki is finished," Alexis realized.

"Goka! Attack Hiroki directly!" Nagisa commanded. "Flame Kick!"

Goka leapt high into the air and launched a flying kick towards Hiroki. As he came in range, Goka's foot quickly became shrouded in flames.

"Gaahh! I banish Necro Gardna from the Graveyard to negate Goka's attack!" a frightened Hiroki announced.

Appearing in front of Hiroki was a ghostly warrior with grey skin and long white hair clad in thick red and silver armor similar to that of a samurai. Goka's attack ended up striking the ghostly warrior in the chest, causing him to shatter into particles of gold light. Many of the people who were watching the duel were totally stunned by what they had just seen.

Atticus let out a long whistle. "That kid, Hiroki just barely made it by the skin of his teeth."

"If he hadn't discarded Necro Gardna earlier using Graceful Charity, he'd have been finished right there," Reggie observed. "Nagisa is definitely not a duelist to be taken lightly."

"I activate the Spell card, Quick Booster and return a copy of Mask Change to my deck!" Nagisa announced. "Then I set one card on the field and end my turn!"

Hiroki drew his next card. "Nagisa… you truly are amazing. But… I will prove myself worthy of you! First I activate Card of Sancity, allowing us both to draw until we have six cards! Next I activate Foolish Burial and send a monster straight from my deck to the Graveyard! Now I play Monster Reborn and summon the monster I just sent to the Graveyard! I summon The Grand Jupiter!"

A pillar of light shot up from the ground on Hiroki's side of the field. In moments, the light faded to reveal a large warrior clad in green, white and yellow mechanical armor. The warrior's fingers were tipped with armored claws, and on his back was a large H-shaped piece of armor that looked almost like they could be a pair of cannons. In the center of his chest was a large sphere that resembled the planet Jupiter. One of The Grand Jupiter's eyes flashed from behind his dark visor and began to glow red.

"Is that… a Legendary Planet?" a surprised Nagisa asked.

"Indeed it is," Hiroki confirmed. "Behold, Hanazono! I, Hiroki Kitami have a card in the same class as your Elemental Hero Terra Firma! With Jupiter on my side, there's no way you can beat me!"

"Well, that was unexpected," Shizuma remarked. "Jaden, did you know that Nagisa's friend had that card?"

"Yeah. It was a total surprise to me the first time I saw him use it," Jaden confirmed.

"How'd an idiot like that ever get his hands on a Planet card?" David asked no one in particular. "He talks a big game, but I bet he doesn't even know how to use the thing."

"I activate Jupiter's effect!" Hiroki announced. "By discarding two cards from my hand, I can equip Jupiter with a monster my opponent controls! I use this effect on Masked Hero Dian!"

A beam of light shot from the planet in Jupiter's chest and struck Dian. In seconds, Dian was pulled into the beam and turned into energy that was sucked into the planet.

"Jupiter gains the total ATK of all monsters equipped to him," Hiroki continued. "Because he's now equipped with Dian, his ATK goes up from 2500 to 5300! Next I equip Jupiter with the Spell card, United We Stand!"

On cue, Jupiter's body began to glow with a feint golden aura.

"Thanks to United We Stand, Jupiter gains 800 ATK for each monster I control," Hiroki continued. "So now his ATK is at 6100! And now, because he's the only card in my hand, I can summon Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight in Attack Mode!"

Appearing next to Jupiter was a knight riding on the back of a purple horse with savage-looking green eyes. Covering the top of the horse's head was piece of black armor with gold trip, which had two red horns on the sides and a single red blade on the top. The knight himself had green skin and was clad mostly in blue armor with gold trim. His helmet had a red mask attached that covered the top half of his face, and on the sides of the helmet was a pair of small red horns. In each hand, the warrior carried a red lance.

"Now that I have another monster on the field, United We Stand raises Jupiter's ATK to 6900!" Hiroki announced.

"Not good!" Jaden declared. "Jupiter's ATK is now so high that a hit to either of Nagisa's monsters will take her life points to zero!"

"Well, well. Guess that kid knows what he's doing after all," David remarked to himself.

"Jupiter! Attack Masked Hero Goka and end this!" Hiroki commanded. "Great Red Spot!"

Jupiter fired a massive blast of red energy from the planet in his chest at Goka.

"I activate my Trap, Negate Attack!" Nagisa announced as the blast got half way across the field. "This card cancels Jupiter's attack and ends the Battle Phase!"

Just as Jupiter's attack was about to hit, a vortex appeared in front of Goka and sucked the energy in.

"That was way too close," Jaden declared with a heavy sigh. He then noticed how calm Shizuma looked. "Shizuma, aren't you at all worried about Nagisa losing this duel?"

"Not really," Shizuma answered. "That last attack did put me a little on edge, but I knew Nagisa could block it."

"In that case, I end my turn!" Hiroki announced. "But with the end of my turn, I also activate Jupiter's other effect and summon the monster equipped to him to my side of the field!"

A ball of red light suddenly zoomed from the planet in Jupiter's chest and struck the ground on his side of the field. The impact created a flash of light that faded to reveal Dian.

"Jupiter may have lost the ATK he had gained from Dian, but since I now have three monsters on the field, United We Stand give him an extra 2400 ATK points!" Hiroki announced. "This puts his ATK at 4900!"

"That combo of using The Grand Jupiter with United We Stand is certainly fairly clever," Atticus remarked.

"Yeah. The ATK boost from that card makes up for the ATK Jupiter loses when he summons one of the monsters equipped to him to the field," Reggie observed. "This Hiroki may not seem very bright, but he definitely knows how to use that Planet card."

"Nagisa, I ask that you give up now," Hiroki requested. "I don't want to hurt you anymore than I have to, and clearly you can see that I've proven my strength to you. Now that I have Jupiter on the field, there's no way you can win."

"Don't sell me so short, Hiroki!" Nagisa responded as she drew her next card. "I activate the Spell card, Mask Charge! With this card, I return a copy of Mask Change and Elemental Hero Heat to my hand! And now I activate Polymerization and fuse together Anki and Goka to summon a Hero from between light and darkness! Appear! Contrast Hero Chaos!"

Suddenly Goka became a silhouette of white light, while Anki became a silhouette of black energy. The two heroes were frozen as they slid across the field towards one another, and when their energies made contact it created an explosion of white and black energy that became a pillar of light that shot into the air. In a few moments the light faded to reveal a new Masked Hero standing with his arms crossed. The right side of his body was black, while his left side was white. The armor on his right shoulder had a spike, along with his right elbow and right knee. From the top of his back on the left side trailed a long white scarf, while a nearly identical black scarf trailed from the right side. The eyes of the hero's mask were a deep blue, and adorning his forehead between two curved spikes was a round blue gemstone.

"A Fusion of two Masked Heroes? I really wasn't expecting that," Jaden stated. "And his has 3000 ATK too. This is Nagisa's ace monster, isn't it?"

"Sure is," Shizuma confirmed. "And now that she has Chaos on the field, this duel is pretty much over."

"I activate Chaos's effect!" Nagisa announced. "Once during either player's turn, Chaos can negate the effects of a face-up card on the field until the end of the turn! And the card I choose is United We Stand!"

Chaos pointed the index finger of his right hand at the large card representing United We Stand and fired a beam of black energy at it. Upon being hit, the card for United We Stand turned totally grey, and the golden aura shining from Jupiter's body faded to nothing.

"Now that the effect of United We Stand is gone, Jupiter's ATK is back to normal," Nagisa continued. "Chaos! Attack Jupiter! Dark & Light Kick!"

Chaos jumped into the air and flew towards Jupiter with both his feet towards him. The hero's feet glowed dark and light as the slammed into Jupiter's chest and knocked him to the ground. Jupiter shattered into particles of gold light and Hiroki's life points dropped to 1500.

"And now I activate Mask Change and use Chaos to summon Masked Hero Koga!" Nagisa announced.

Chaos summersaulted back over to Nagisa's side of the field. With his final landing, the hero became enveloped in a pillar of gold light that shot up from the ground, fading soon after to reveal a new Masked Hero in a white costume. Gold armor covered his chest and shoulders, and on his legs was a pair of knee-high golden boots. Covering his head was a golden mask with green eyes and three flat spiked on the back. On each wrist, the warrior wore a piece of gold armor with a long spike growing from the front.

"Wait a sec! Nagisa, that Masked Hero you summoned is a Light monster!" Hiroki noticed. "But Contrast Hero Chaos was a Dark monster, which means you couldn't have used Mask Change to summon it!"

"Because of his effect, Chaos is treated as both a Light monster and a Dark monster, which means he can be used to summon a Masked Hero of either attribute," Nagisa explained. "Masked Hero Koga gains 500 ATK for each monster my opponent controls! Since you have two monsters left, Koga's ATK goes up from 2500 to 3500! I activate Koga's other effect! By banishing a Hero monster from the Graveyard, Koga can lower the attack of one of my opponent's monsters by the ATK of the one banished! I banish Masked Hero Anki to lower Swift Gaia's ATK by 2800!"

A ray of gold light projected from the gemstone on the forehead of Koga's mask and turned into an image of Anki made of gold light. The golden image of Anki flew across the field and tackled into Gaia, vanishing after dropping Gaia's ATK to zero.

"Koga! Attack Swift Gaia!" Nagisa commanded. "Solar Ray Slash!"

With incredible speed, Koga zoomed across the field and slashed Gaia and his steed with the spike on his right wrist as he passed. Upon being struck, Gaia shattered into particles of gold light and Hiroki's life points dropped to zero. With the duel finally at an end, Koga and Dian vanished from the field as Hiroki dropped to his knees.

"That's game, Hiroki," Nagisa declared.

"That really was an impressive victory, Nagisa," Hiroki spoke as he got back to his feet. "But… I will not give up! I will keep fighting until I prove myself in your eyes! Maybe I can't defeat you, but I will keep facing every Hero user out there until you realize just how strong I am! Be warned, Jaden Yuki! Shizuma Hanazono! This is not the end!"

"You gotta admire the kid's spirit," Atticus spoke with an amused smirk.

"He's totally wasting his time though," Reggie pointed out. "No matter how many Hero users he manages to beat, that girl will clearly never be interested in him."

"Oh brother," Nagisa spoke with a heavy sigh.

With that, Hiroki stormed away from the party. Meanwhile, Nagisa went over to Shizuma and the others.

Shizuma gave Nagisa a big hug as soon as she came near. "You did well."

"Thanks. Hiroki really caught me off guard when he summoned that Planet monster though," Nagisa spoke. "Where on earth did he even get it?"

"Hiroki said that he won it in a tournament held at his old academy," Jaden recalled.

"Some prize," Alexis declared. "The Legendary Planets are about as rare as the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. I wonder who presented it to him."

* * *

Hiroki had reached the edge of the small forest out behind Spica. He needed some time to be alone and collect his thoughts. Hiroki found that he wasn't all that upset about losing to Nagisa. In fact, her strength made him love her even more. Even so, Hiroki was becoming frustrated at his constant string of defeat at the hands of Hero users.

"That was truly a brilliant performance, Hiroki my boy!" a familiar voice spoke. Hiroki turned to see Pegasus coming towards him.

"Mr. Pegasus!" Hiroki responded. "What're you doing here?"

"I just wanted to congratulate you," Pegasus answered. "You may have lost, but you confirmed I was right to give you with The Grand Jupiter for winning that tournament. That combo of Jupiter and United We Stand was truly inspired."

"Thanks. But I still lost," Hiroki pointed out. "I have no intention of giving up on my quest to prove myself, but… I don't know what to do to achieve my goal. It seems like I've reached a dead end."

"Then perhaps it's time you revamped your deck," Pegasus suggested. "Nagisa changed her deck to the one she has now, and you've seen how it's done wonders for her."

"But how do I improve?" Hiroki asked. "What can I do to change my deck in a way to overcome every Hero user out there?"

"Well, since your goal is to defeat Hero decks, then you should change your deck to become a sort of Nemesis deck," Pegasus answered. "The Grand Jupiter already fits the image of a villain to oppose Hero monsters. Now we just need to make the rest of your deck fit that theme. Here!" he spoke as he reached into the pocket of his suit and pulled out a thick deck of cards. "As it happens, I have some cards with me that might be just what you need. Consider them my gift to you."

Hiroki took the cards and began looking them over. "These Dark monsters… and anti-Fusion cards too. Thank you, Mr. Pegasus. With these, I can put together my strongest deck yet!"

"I look forward to seeing your next duel," Pegasus responded, and with that he turned and left.

* * *

Jaden had gone into Spica Academy to get away from the reception. The party had started to get a little boring after Nagisa's duel had ended. Yubel was walking at Jaden's side.

"Man! I just can't get over how powerful Nagisa's gotten as a duelist," Jaden spoke.

"You want to duel her, don't you?" Yubel deduced with a smirk.

"You bet!" Jaden confirmed as he pumped his fist. "A duel like that would be a blast!"

As Jaden tuned a corner in the hall, he accidentally bumped into a young woman with long dark hair and eyes the deep color of a fine red wine.

"Oh! Sorry," Jaden told the young woman. "Wasn't looking where I was going, I guess."

"It's alright," the young woman answered. "I kinda spaced out and wasn't paying any attention either. You're one of the people visiting for the festival, right?"

"That's right," the wandering pro duelist confirmed. "I'm Jaden Yuki."

"Akane Tsukasa," the dark-haired girl replied.

As the two of them shook hands, Jaden felt a surge go through his arm almost like electricity. Whatever it was made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.

"It was nice meeting you," Akane spoke as she took her hand away. "Well, if you'll excuse me."

Jaden looked at his hand closely as Akane walked away, trying to make sense of what he had just felt.

"You sensed it too, didn't you?" Yubel asked as she reappeared next to him. "There's definitely something off about that girl."

"Yeah," Jaden agreed. "I suddenly have a bad feeling."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** As many character introductions as there were in the opening of this chapter, we've still yet to see this story's entire cast. It's going to take a little while to get all these characters together.

Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed the duel featured in this chapter. The idea of having Nagisa switch from the Normal Monster deck she used in _Strawberry Crisis_ to a Masked Hero deck is an idea I had been tossing around for quite a while. The deciding factor was the fact that Normal Monster decks in the end just aren't that powerful, at least not compared to a lot of other decks out there. Actually, it's kind of appropriate that Nagisa is now using a Masked Hero deck, because around the time I had first seen the Strawberry Panic anime, I had also been watching one of the old Kamen Rider shows (the franchise that the Masked Heroes are based on) on YouTube out of curiosity. The show in question wasn't half bad.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	4. Another Transfer Student

**Author's Note:** Even with the mountain of character introductions at the start of the last chapter, this story's cast is still far from complete. Up next is the introduction of a completely new and major character.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX or Strawberry Panic.

* * *

Chapter 3: Another Transfer Student

Following the reception for the festival, the guests on the island had all been assigned quarters on various parts on the island. Jaden and Alexis had ended up getting a room at Shizuma's villa on the island, which Shizuma had offered to them shortly before the plane trip. The following morning, Jaden had decided to go out for a walk on the grounds. During his walk, he ended up once more in the forest where he had met Nagisa and Shizuma for the first time. Even though he had been at that spot fairly recently during the Astraea Star Cup Tournament, it had seemed to Jaden like it had been years.

"Being here really takes me back," Jaden remarked.

"Uh-huh," Yubel responded as she appeared next to him, and Jaden could tell that something was on her mind.

"What's wrong? You've been pretty quiet since we moved into Shizuma's villa," Jaden told her. "Alexis noticed too. You thinking about that girl we met while wandering around Spica?"

"That has been a bit of a concern, but there's something else that's been bothering me a little more," Yubel answered. "I don't know if you've realized it, but it seems like most of the other guests are wielders of the Legendary Planet cards."

"You're right!" Jaden responded. "But it's probably a coincidence. I mean for one thing, Shizuma's a former student. As for Principal Mackenzie, he's here because he was a friend of one of the founders and Pegasus. Reggie's probably here because her dad was invited, same as Rabb. And Axel told us he was here because Pegasus hired him to provide security."

"Alright, but how do you explain Lena and that sap, Hiroki being here?" Yubel asked. "They don't have any connection to the three academies or to Pegasus. I'm telling you, something's up here."

"I think you're just being paranoid," Jaden told her.

Before Yubel could argue, the two of them heard the sound of a twig snapping. They looked and saw Akane wandering past them a few feet away.

"It's that girl from yesterday," Jaden realized. "Do you think we should follow her?"

"Considering that we felt something strange from her, I think that's wise," Yubel agreed. "She could be some kind of threat. It wouldn't hurt to keep an eye on her."

With that, Jaden began to follow Akane as discretely as he could, being careful not to do anything to give away his position. From a distance, he couldn't sense anything sinister from the dark-haired beauty, and it didn't seem like she was up to anything that could be considered shady. It appeared that Akane was only out for a walk, just as he was. As Jaden continued to trail her, Akane finally made it to the edge of the lake within the forest. Akane merely stood there looking out at the lake as though lost in thought.

"I'm starting to think that this is pointless," Jaden quietly spoke. "I mean we don't even know what it was we sensed from her before. Maybe we should just leave."

"Let's just wait a little longer," Yubel's voice told him. "Like you said, we don't know what it was we sensed from her, which means we shouldn't let our guard down."

After a few minutes, Akane finally started to walk off. Jaden was about to leave as well when he suddenly noticed someone coming towards Akane from her left. It was another young woman wearing a Spica uniform. She was a bit shorter than Akane, and had shoulder-length chestnut-brown hair and striking blue eyes behind a pair of glasses with square black frames. A brown bag was sling over her left shoulder, and her nose was buried in a small book with a powder-blue cover.

Before Jaden could do anything, the girl in the glasses ran smack into Akane and the two of them fell to the ground. The brown-haired girl's glasses had been knocked off her face in the process.

As soon as the brown-haired girl managed to recover her glasses, she realized that she was on top of Akane and blushed. "Oh! I-I'm so sorry! I really should've been looking where I was going."

"Would you mind getting off me?" Akane requested.

"Huh? Oh! Oh yes!" the brown-haired girl responded as she quickly moved off Akane and got to her feet. "Again, I'm terribly sorry."

"It's fine," Akane assured her as she got up. "I wasn't looking where I was going either. My brain's been kind of in a fog lately. Say, I don't think I've seen you around this island before."

"I, uh… I recently transferred here," the brown-haired girl explained. "My name's Erica. And you?"

"Akane," the dark-haired girl responded. "Your glasses are a little crooked," she spoke as she suddenly reached over and adjusted her frames, causing Erica's face to turn bright red. "There, that's better. Well, I should probably get going. It was nice meeting you, Erica."

Erica stood frozen where she was as Akane walked off. When the dark-haired girl was finally out of sight, she turned and began to fan herself with her hand. "Oh my god! I can't believe something like that just happened."

"Hey," Jaden spoke as he finally emerged from his hiding spot, causing Erica to let out a startled cry. "You okay?"

"What the… who are you and what're you doing on this island?" Erica demanded to know. "The last time I checked, there weren't supposed to be any men on this island, with the exception of a few instructors."

"Don't worry, I'm just a guest here," Jaden assured her as he slowly came closer. "My name's Jaden Yuki. I'm here for the Founders Festival."

"Oh… the festival. Yes, I had read that the festival was supposed to be happening at around this time," Erica recalled. "Wait! So you're a visiting pro duelist?"

"Yep. My name's Jaden Yuki," the wandering pro duelist replied.

Erica suddenly dropped her bag and pulled out a Spica issue duel disk. "In that case, Mr. Jaden Yuki, perhaps you will do me the honor of facing me in a duel. I've recently assembled a new deck, and a duel against a pro duelist would be a worthy test for it."

At this, Jaden smirked and activated his own duel disk. "Game on!"

Once Erica had turned on her duel disk, the two of them drew their opening hands.

"I shall go first!" Erica declared as she drew her first card. "I summon Alpha the Electromagnet Warrior in Attack Mode!"

Materializing on Erica's side of the field was a grey humanoid robot with bright blue-green eyes and a blue light built into the top of its head. On the sides of its head like horns were the two halves of a large horseshoe magnet. Decorating the front of its chest was a red letter N above a blue letter S. Its midsection was wrapped in electrified copper wire like a coil, and it had two smaller electric copper coils attached to its back. In its left hand it carried a grey shield with a large horseshoe magnet on the front, and in its right hand was a long pole weapon made from a long electrified copper coil, and with a handle that had another horseshoe magnet serving as the guard.

"When Alpha has been summoned to the field, his effect lets me add a level eight Magna Warrior from my deck to my hand!" Erica announced. "That ends my turn."

"Never seen a monster like that one before," Jaden quietly remarked.

"It looks like a retooled version of Alpha the Magnet Warrior," Yubel observed. "Looks like we know what sort of deck this girl uses."

"Yep," Jaden responded as he drew his first card. "For my first move, I activate Polymerization! From my hand, I fuse together Elemental Hero Avian and Elemental Hero Burstinatrix to summon Elemental Hero Flame Wingman!"

Appearing on Jaden's side of the field was a warrior clad in a green bodysuit that looked almost as though it had fur. On his back was a large pair of white-feathered wings, and covering his head was a green mask with a section of red around his eyes. Next to him was a grey-haired woman with light-grey skin, wearing a red bodysuit and gold helmet. The two heroes flew into a small transparent vortex that had appeared in the sky, and flying out of phenomenon soon after was a new hero who was mainly green and black in color and had slightly deformed white wing grew out of the left side of his back. The warrior's right arm was red and had a dragon's head instead of a hand, and on his rear end was a red dragon-like tail.

"Flame Wingman, attack Alpha!" Jaden commanded. "Flame Shoot!"

Flame Wingman shot a fireball from the dragonhead on his arm that stuck Alpha in the chest. Upon being hit, Alpha exploded and Erica's life points took a slight drop to 3600.

"When Flame Wingman destroys a monster in battle, he deals damage equal to that monster's attack!" Jaden announced.

The flame hero blasted Erica with a stream of flames from his dragonhead arm. Erica quickly shielded herself from the flames with her arms, but her life points still dropped to 1900."

"That ends my turn!" Jaden announced.

"Clearly I made a miscalculation," Erica observed as she drew her next card. "I was not expecting you to play a monster like Flame Wingman. Had I, I would've played more defensively on the first turn to minimize the damage."

"Hey. We all make little mistakes like that," Jaden responded with a shrug.

"Indeed. But that mistake will be my last in this duel!" Erica declared. "I summon Gamma the Electromagnet Warrior in Defense Mode!"

Materializing on Erica's side of the field was a bulky light-green humanoid robot with a thick almost barrel-like torso. It had a small blue head with yellow eyes, around the back of which was a protective collar with a round horseshoe magnet around it. The robot's large shoulder joints were round and flat, while its upper arms were thin electrified copper coils. Meanwhile its large forearms each had a large bar magnet attached to the top. Another small yet thick electrical coil was built into the top of the robot's chest.

"When Gamma is summoned to the field, I can summon another Magnet Warrior from my hand!" Erica announced. "I summon Beta the Electromagnet Warrior!"

Appearing next to Gamma was a pink humanoid robot with a disproportionately large head. This head totally lacked a face, and attached to the sides of it like horns were the two halves of a horseshoe magnet. Electrified copper wire was wrapped around its upper arms and shoulders, and it had two small electrified copper coils attached to its elbows. Its arms ended with two sets of claws made from horseshoe magnet halves, and its feet were totally flat on the top and the bottom.

"When Beta has been summoned to the field, his effect lets me add a level four or lower Magnet Warrior to my hand!" Erica announced. "I use this effect to take the original Beta the Magnet Warrior from my deck! Next I activate Graceful Charity and draw three more cards before discarding two!"

"Does she really need to improve her hand that much with all the cards she's got now?" Jaden quietly asked.

"Somehow I don't think drawing more cards is her reason for playing that card," Yubel told him.

"And now, by banishing Alpha, Beta and Gamma from my hand, field or Graveyard, I can combine them together to summon the ultimate magnetic warrior!" Erica announced. "I call forth Berserkion the Electromagna Warrior!"

Alpha reappeared on the field next to his comrades, and suddenly all three of them broke into pieces. The pieces then all reassembled into a single much larger humanoid robot. It had a single flat blade on the top of its head along with a pair of bar magnets for horns, and a green metallic mask served as its face. The machine's green upper torso had come from Gamma, and a pair of large horseshoe magnets covered its shoulder joints. Gamma's shoulder joints meanwhile had become a pair of large electrical coils that were attached to the robot's back. Its neck and midsection were electrical coils as well, and it had two more coils built into the powerful forearms it had gotten from Gamma. The robot's upper legs were made from pieces of Alpha, while its pink lower legs came from Beta. In his right hand, the robot carried a large pole weapon that had been made from Alpha's original weapon.

"Wow! And it has 3000 ATK on top of everything else," an impressed Jaden observed.

"High ATK isn't Berserkion's only strength!" Erica told him. "I activate Berserkion's effect, EMP Shock! By banishing a Magnet Warrior from the Graveyard, Berserkion can destroy a card on the field! I banish Alpha the Magnet Warrior to destroy Flame Wingman!"

Berserkion spun his pole weapon like a fan and blasted Flame Wingman with bursts of yellow electrical energy. Upon being hit, Flame Wingman shattered into particles of gold light.

"I get now. She used Graceful Charity to dump more Magnet Warriors into the Graveyard," Jaden realized.

"Which means she can use Berserkion's effect on her next turn," Yubel added.

"Berserkion! Attack him directly!" Erica commanded. "EMP Bolt!"

The giant magnet robot swung his pole weapon at Jaden, firing a bolt of yellow electricity from the tip. Jaden was struck in the chest by the lightning and his life points dropped to a mere 1000.

"That ends my turn!" Erica announced.

Jaden drew his next card. "I activate Miracle Fusion and banish Avian and Burstinatrix from my Graveyard to summon Elemental Hero Great Tornado!"

Ghostly images of Avian and Burstinatrix appeared on the field and flew into another transparent vortex that appeared above the battlefield. Dropping out of the vortex a few moments later was a warrior in green, dark-brown, and yellow-tan armor. Over his left arm, the warrior wore a tattered dark-brown cape. As soon as the new hero touched down, a powerful twister of wind radiated from him over the battlefield and struck Berserkion, causing the robot to stumble back a step.

"When Great Tornado has been summoned to the field, his effect halves the ATK of all my opponent's monsters!" Jaden announced. "Great Tornado! Attack Berserkion! Super Cell!"

Great Tornado raised his arms forward and blasted Berserkion with a powerful twister of wind. The twister of wind struck the robot in the chest and knocked him into the individual pieces that made up his body, all of them falling to the ground with a loud metallic clatter. Erica's life points meanwhile had fallen to 600. Soon after the attack though, the pieces of Berserkion suddenly reassembled into Alpha, Beta and Gamma.

"What the heck?" a stunned Jaden spoke. "How are the three warriors that made up Berserkion back on the field?"

"When Berserkion's been destroyed, I can summon the three monsters used to make him," Erica explained. "But that's not all. Because Alpha, Beta and Gamma have been summoned to the field, I can use each of their effects! I use Alpha's effect to add a second copy of Berserkion to my hand, I use Beta's effect to add Delta the Magnet Warrior to my hand, and I use Gamma's effect to summon the original Beta the Magnet Warrior!"

Appearing next to Gamma was a yellow and grey humanoid robot. It had a large round head with two black dots for eyes. On the sides of its head like horns were the two halves of a horseshoe magnet. Each of its arms ended with pincers that were also made from horseshoe magnet pieces.

"I lay down a face-down and end my turn!" Jaden announced.

"On her next turn, she'll summon Berserkion all over again and take out Great Tornado," Yubel told Jaden. "If we can't block her next attack, we're finished."

"I know," Jaden responded.

Erica drew her next card. "For my first move this turn, I summon Delta the Magnet Warrior in Attack Mode!"

Appearing on Erica's side of the field was a blue-green humanoid robot with a pyramid-shaped head. It had a large horseshoe magnet around the back of its head, and its face was a black screen with two yellow dots for eyes. Both its torso and waist were triangular, and it had two long pyramid-shaped spikes on its back. Its arms, legs and midsection were made from flexible grey cables, and it had a pair of large triangular feet with bar magnets on the front. On the back of its blue-green hands were pyramids with horseshoe magnet pincers.

"When Delta has been summoned to the field, his effect lets me send another Magnet Warrior from my deck to the Graveyard!" Erica announced. "I use this effect to send a second copy of Alpha the Magnet Warrior to the Graveyard! Now I recombine my three Electromagnet Warriors to summon back Berserkion!"

On cue, the three electromagnetic robots broke into pieces and reassembled into Erica's giant magnetic warrior.

"I activate Berserkion's effect and banish Gamma the Magnet Warrior from my Graveyard to destroy Great Tornado!" Erica announced. "EMP Shock!"

Berserkion spun his pole weapon around like a propeller and zapped Great Tornado with bolts of electricity. Upon being hit, the hero of wind shattered into particles of gold light.

"Berserkion, attack him directly!" Erica commanded. "EMP Bolt!"

"I activate my Trap, Negate Attack!" Jaden announced. "This card cancels Berserkion's attack and ends the Battle Phase!"

The giant robot fired another bolt of lighting from the end of his weapon, only for it to get sucked into a small vortex that appeared briefly in front of Jaden.

"I guess I'll end my turn there," Erica announced. "But you should realize that you can't get out of this situation. Even if you somehow manage to destroy Berserkion again, I'll only summon his component monsters back to the field and use them to summon Berserkion for a third time on my next turn."

"You think so, huh?" Jaden responded as he drew his next card. "First I activate Pot of Greed and draw two cards! Then I summon Elemental Hero Clayman in Defense Mode!"

Appearing on Jaden's side of the field in a kneeling position was a warrior clad in thick grey stone-like armor with light-brown trim. A round red mask with blue windows over the eyes covered its face with.

"What good was it to summon a barrier monster?" Erica asked. "On my next turn, I'll simply destroy it using Berserkion's effect and move in for the final attack."

"Sorry, but there isn't gonna be a next turn!" Jaden declared. "I activate Super Polymerization! I discard one card and fuse Clayman with Berserkion to summon Elemental Hero Gaia!"

"You what!" a startled Erica exclaimed.

The sky darkened and a vortex of storm clouds appeared above the field. The wind picked up, and soon the powerful gust lifted both Clayman and Berserkion into the sky. Both monsters were pulled into the center of the vortex and vanished, creating a blinding flash of yellow lightning. The vortex vanished, and dropping down to the ground with a thud was a warrior clad completely in tick dark-brown armor with gold trim and decorated with red gemstones. He had red eyes, powerful forearms covered in thick round pieces of armor, and a spherical red gem in the center of his chest.

"Impossible!" a stunned Erica spoke. "How could there be a card that allows a player to fuse the opponent's monsters with their own?"

"When Gaia has been summoned to the field, his effect cuts the ATK of an opponent's monster in half and adds that half to his own ATK points until the end of the turn!" Jaden announced. "I use this effect of Beta the Magnet Warrior!"

Gaia stomped his right foot and sent a shockwave across the field that knocked Classic Beta onto his rear. Classic Beta's ATK dropped to a mere 850, while Gaia's ATK rose to 3050.

"Gaia, attack Beta the Magnet Warrior!" Jaden commanded. "Continental Hammer!"

Gaia slammed his right fist into the ground and sent shards of earth across the field. The wave of earth flung Classic Beta into the air and caused him to shatter into particles of gold light. Meanwhile, Eria's remaining life points dropped to zero. With the duel at an end, Gaia and Delta vanished from the field.

"That's game!" Jaden declared as he did his trademark victory pose.

"Thank you for the duel," Erica told him with a bow. "It seems that my new deck could still use a little fine-tuning, though clearly I wasn't at all prepared for that last move of yours."

Suddenly Erica put her bag on the ground and pulled out a silver laptop. Sitting on the ground with her legs crossed, she removed her duel disk and pulled a cable from it, which she plugged into the computer's side. Jaden came over and looked over the brown-haired girl's shoulder as Erica tapped the keys. In a few moments, an image of the Super Polymerization card appeared on the screen.

"Um, what exactly are you doing?" Jaden asked.

"I modified my duel disk with a special recorder that captures the data of cards used during a duel," Erica explained. "I can then upload that data onto my computer for further analysis. It's very useful when encountering rare cards I haven't seen before."

"And you made that yourself?" Jaden asked.

"When I was twelve," Erica answered, not once taking her eyes from the screen. "So, Super Polymerization. This is probably the most powerful Spell card I've seen. Not only can it fuse the user's monsters with the opponent's, its activation is nearly impossible to stop." She then looked back up at Jaden. "Where on earth did you get a card like this?"

"It's kind of a long story," Jaden answered as his expression darkened a bit.

"And not one of our finest moments," Yubel added, though she knew Erica couldn't hear her.

"Well, no matter," Erica responded as she closed her laptop and got back to her feet. "That duel was a good learning experience for me. Thank you again."

"No problem. It was a blast," Jaden responded. "So are you new to Astraea Island?"

"Why yes. I transferred to Spica Academy just recently," Erica confirmed. "I thought that attending one of the academies on this island would give me a better chance at finding love."

"Come again?" Jaden asked.

Erica blushed a bit. "Oh! Well, you see long ago I realized that I was attracted to other girls. So knowing the rumored reputation of the academies on this island, I felt that coming here would increase my chances of finding a suitable mate."

"Makes sense to me," Jaden responded.

"I must say I seem to be on the right track," Erica continued. "I honestly wouldn't mind getting together with that dark-haired goddess I quite literally ran into earlier."

"Why do I feel like history's repeating itself?" Yubel asked.

"There you are!" a familiar voice spoke. Jaden looked to see Alexis approaching with Shizuma and Nagisa. "We've been looking all over for you."

"Sorry Lex. I was out for a walk and ended up in a duel with this transfer student here," Jaden explained.

"Yes. Actually the reason I was in this forest is because I got a little lost," Erica admitted with a nervous chuckle as she rubbed the back of her head. "I was trying to find the dorms and somehow got lost."

"Oh! I can help you find your way," Nagisa offered. "I'm technically a student here on the island myself. My name's Nagisa."

"A pleasure to meet you," Erica replied. "And what do you mean by technically?"

"Well, I'm sort of studying abroad in order to be able to travel with my girlfriend here," Nagisa explained, pointing a hand to Shizuma. "She's a Miator graduate and a pro duelist now."

Erica blushed upon seeing the silver-haired duelist. "Oh… my. You're Shizuma Hanazono, aren't you?"

"You got it," Shizuma confirmed. "You another fan of mine?"

"Well yes, I have admired you for quite some time," Erica confirmed. "Of course I have a special interest in you because you possess one of the Legendary Planet cards."

"What's Shizuma having Terra Firma have to do with anything?" Jaden asked.

"Well you see I'm related to the card's creator," Erica revealed. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Erica Muller. Erich Muller was my uncle."

"Your uncle made the Legendary Planets?" an amazed Nagisa asked.

"Yes. I asked him often why he made them, but he was always so secretive about it, even with me," Erica answered. "But then Uncle Erich was always a little eccentric."

"That was the impression I got from him," Shizuma remarked.

"Wait, you knew the guy who made the Planet cards?" Jaden asked.

"I met him once, long ago," Shizuma admitted. "Well, we should get this girl to the dorms. The sooner she can get settled in here, the better."

With that, Nagisa and Shizuma began to escort Erica in the direction of the Strawberry Dorms. Jaden and Alexis hung back for a moment.

"First most of the Legendary Planet users show up on the island, and now the niece of the cards' creator shows up as a new student," Yubel spoke as she reappeared to Jaden and Yubel. "That can't be just a coincidence."

"That is pretty weird," Alexis admitted.

"I don't know. I think you guys are reading too much into all this," Jaden told them. "Then again, with that Akane girl in the mix, maybe there is something else going on here."

* * *

Akane had made it back to her room at the dorms, placed her duel disk and deck on the nightstand, and plopped onto the bed. Looking up at the ceiling, she started to think about her earlier encounter with Erica. She had to admit that the brown-haired girl was pretty cute, especially the way she seemed to get all flustered when she adjusted her glasses. Akane thought for a moment about going to find her again but stopped herself.

"What am I thinking?" Akane asked with a heavy sigh. "That girl may be cute… but she's not Mahiro. Still, why is she suddenly on my mind?"

Just then a light began to shine from the deck resting on the nightstand. Akane sat up and pulled the source of the light from her deck to find that it was coming from The Invader X.

Akane's eyes began to glow as she looked at the card and a strange smile came to her face. "What the hell do I need that girl for? Especially when I have this? With this card… I can make everyone on the planet feel the same pain I live each day. And nothing will stop me from doing that."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I kept the duel in this chapter fairly simple because A.) I've never used a Magnet Warrior deck before, and B.) I didn't want to do another monstrously long chapter like the last one. I had initially though about having Erica summon Valkyrion in addition to Berserkion, but that just would've made the duel too long. Besides, Erica will have at least one other chance later in this story to show off what her deck can do.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	5. Terra Firma Origin

**Author's Note:** As it happens, I have a lot of extra time on this week to work on this story. And since this was kind of an easy chapter, it came together pretty quickly. Get ready for a few more character introductions and some backstory.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX or Strawberry Panic.

* * *

Chapter 4: Terra Firma Origin

Erica had finally made it to the Strawberry Dorms with the help of Nagisa and the others. Unlike finding the dorms themselves, Erica had no trouble at all finding her room. Upon opening the door, Erica saw that the room was already occupied. Lying on one of the beds inside the room was a young woman in a Spica uniform with long straight pink hair that had a streak of red near the front on the left side. She was holding a manga book in front of her face, and covering her ears was a large black pair of headphones.

While Erica had been expecting to have a roommate, she was still a little bit surprised to see her in the room. As Erica came into the room, she said hello to her new roommate, only to get no response. It soon occurred to her that the girl couldn't hear her because of the headphones.

Erica moved in next to her and lifted the pinkette's left headphone. "Hello! Excuse me."

At that moment, the girl put down her book and looked at Erica, finally revealing her face and her deep purple eyes. "Oh hey. Sorry, I didn't notice you come in. You my new roommate?"

"That's right," the brown-haired girl confirmed. "I'm Erica Muller."

"Keiko Izumi," the pinkette responded as she shook Erica's hand. "Sorry I didn't hear you come in."

"Don't worry about it," Erica told her.

"So you're a transfer student, huh?" Keiko observed as she took off her headphones. "I am too. I've been here for about three months now. If you like, I'd be happy to show you around the academy later."

"I'd like that," Erica agreed. "First though, I'd like a chance to get settled in."

"Sure, sure. Don't mind me," Keiko replied, and with that she put her headphones back on and went back to her book.

As Erica began to unpack her bags, she finally started to notice the state that the room was in. The area surrounding Keiko's bed was a mess, with clothes and other items scattered around the floor. Erica also noticed various CD cases spread out over the small desk against the wall on Keiko's side of the room. She took a closer look and saw that the CDs were of various punk rock bands, a genre that Erica was not a fan of.

Erica sighed as she went back to the task of unpacking. "She seems like a nice girl, but she is definitely not my type."

Within a few more minutes, Erica had finished her unpacking. Seeing that Keiko still wasn't finished with her book, she decided to get out her laptop and look over some card data. As she called up the information on Super Polymerization, she found herself once again thinking about Akane. That girl was definitely her type, that much Erica knew for sure. Of course she hardly knew anything about Akane, but she was determined to find out all she could about her.

* * *

Jaden and Alexis had returned with Shizuma and Nagisa returned to Shizuma's villa on the island. The afternoon had grown fairly late, and the four had decided to have some lemonade out on the patio.

"That girl, Erica sure seemed pretty nice," Nagisa remarked. "And smart too."

"You know she modified her duel disk to record the cards used in a duel," Jaden informed them. "She said that she came up with that recorder when she was twelve."

"What surprised me was hearing that Erica's related to the man who made the Legendary Planet cards," Alexis remarked.

"There is a bit of a resemblance between the girl and Erich Muller," Shizuma noted as she calmly took a sip from her glass.

"Hey Shizuma, how is it that you knew the guy who made the Planet cards?" Jaden asked. "More importantly, how'd you even end up with Terra Firma in the first place?"

"I'd like to know that too, actually," Nagisa admitted. "You never said how you got your hands on such a rare card like Terra Firma."

"I didn't?" Shizuma responded. "Well then, I might as well tell you. The fact is Erich Muller gave me the card himself, along with most of my current deck. It happened only a few days I had started attending Miator. At the time, I was still getting over a pretty brutal loss I suffered before I came to the island; a loss that Nagisa knows all about. Even though I had sworn to prove myself as a real duelist, that loss had caused me to fall into kind of a slump, and one morning I had actually found myself thinking of dropping out of the academy and heading home…"

* * *

 _Shizuma was sitting on a bench under a tree out behind Miator, looking out at the sky. She had just lost another duel, her fifth one since coming to the island. Ever since her defeat against Seto Kaiba at the farewell party her parents had thrown for her before coming to the island, Shizuma's confidence had been totally shattered. She wondered if she was truly cut out to be a duelist._

 _"And what has a lovely young girl like you looking so sad on such a beautiful day?" suddenly asked a male voice with a slight accent._

 _Shizuma gasped in surprise and quickly jumped to her feet. Standing before her was a man in his mid to late forties with very pale skin, chestnut-brown hair with a white streak down the middle, and striking blue eyes. On his left eye he had a monocle attached to a gold chain that went into the pocket of the blue sport coat he was wearing. The rest of his outfit consisted of a red ascot with black slack, polished brown shoes and white gloves._

 _"Who the heck are you?" Shizuma asked._

 _"Forgive me, child. I did not mean to startle you," the man told her. "I am Erich Muller, one of the founders of the three academies on this island."_

 _"Oh. I've heard of you," Shizuma responded as she relaxed and sat back down on the island._

 _Erich sat down on the bench next to Shizuma. "So, getting back to my original question, why do you seem so depressed?"_

 _"Ever since I came to Miator, it's been one loss for me after another," Shizuma explained. "I'm starting to think that I don't have what it takes to be a duelist."_

 _"You shouldn't be so hard on yourself," Erich told her. "Even the best duelists go through something of a slump from time to time. Perhaps I can help you get out of it. Might I see your deck?"_

 _Shizuma shrugged and pulled out her deck, handing it to Erich. Erich looked over each card in the deck one at a time, flipping through them carefully with his gloved hands._

 _"It's a pretty terrible deck, isn't it?" Shizuma assumed._

 _"I wouldn't go that far," Erich told her as he handed the deck back to her. "It's a bit basic, but well balanced. However, I do think that perhaps it's far past time you started using a new more powerful deck. The problem may just be that you've outgrown this one."_

 _"So I need to start a new deck from scratch?" Shizuma asked._

 _"Not necessarily," Erich told her as he got up from the bench and moved around to face her. "As it happen, I do have a deck with me that might be suited for you, but there's a little test we need to perform first to find out for sure."_

 _"What kind of test?" Shizuma asked._

 _Erich reached into his sport coat and pulled out a deck of long cards, each with a blue back with displaying a golden eye-like symbol._

 _"Is that this new deck you're talking about?" Shizuma asked with a raised eyebrow._

 _"No, no," Erich answered with a brief chuckle. "These are tarot cards. Actually, part of the inspiration for Duel Monsters came from the tarot. As for these cards, we're going to be using them to find out if you're a right fit for the deck I've told you about."_

 _"So what do I have to do?" Shizuma asked._

 _"I want you to take this deck and shuffle it three times," Erich answered. "Then hand it back to me and draw the top card from the deck. The card that you draw will determine whether or not you're worthy."_

 _Shizuma did as Erich instructed and shuffled the deck three times. After placing the deck back in Erich's gloved hand, she drew the top card from the deck. The illustration of the card showed a woman with long wavy silver hair wearing a long white toga and a crown of golden leaves. The woman was holding a sword and standing in front of an image of the planet Earth._

 _"Ah! The card you've drawn is The World," Erich observed. "This card shows that you have an indomitable free spirit that cannot be chained by any force. Everything you do will lead to great success, even legendary status, just as long as you don't become too overconfident or prideful. Always remember to be true to yourself."_

 _"So does this mean I pass this test of yours?" Shizuma asked._

 _"Indeed it does," Erich confirmed as he put the tarot cards back into his pocket. "I was hoping very much to find a duelist like you."_

 _With that, Erich pulled a deck of Duel Monsters cards from his sport coat and handed it to Shizuma. Shizuma took the deck and saw that the card on the bottom was Elemental Hero Terra Firma._

 _"A superhero deck?" Shizuma asked with a raised eyebrow._

 _"Ah! But not just any superhero deck," Erich told her. "As it happens, that Fusion Monster you're looking at, Elemental Hero Terra Firma is a one of a kind card that I personally created. And I am totally confident that you're the one duelist on the planet most suited to wield it. Give it a try! Make that deck your own, and you shall see that you are destined to become a great duelist!"_

* * *

"…Getting that deck from Erich Muller that day really turned things around," Shizuma spoke as she concluded her story. "Once I started using that deck, my slump came to an end. And eventually I started having fun dueling again."

"It's pretty surprising that he just gave you Terra Firma just like that," Alexis remarked.

"Well, he was known for being rather eccentric," Shizuma pointed out.

"Did you get to know Mr. Muller pretty well after that?" Nagisa asked.

"No. That was the only time he and I actually spoke," Shizuma answered. "I did see him in the crowd during my first duel with the deck he gave me, but that was it. A few months later, he died because of some illness he was suffering."

"So I guess he never told you why he created the Planet cards," Jaden assumed.

"I didn't even find out that Terra Firma was part of a special series until much later on," Shizuma revealed. "It was during my first duel with Reggie Mackenzie. She told me the relationship between Terra Firma and her Splendid Venus. If there really was some special reason behind why Erich Muller created the Legendary Planets, the secret probably died with him."

* * *

The next morning, Jaden was out for another stroll and had ended up back outside of Spica. Only seconds after arriving, he spotted Erica out with a pink-haired Spica student. Jaden decided to go over and say hi.

"Hey there, Erica," Jaden spoke as he came over, getting the two's attention.

"Oh! Hello Jaden," Erica responded. "Nice to see you again."

"Same here. Who's your friend?" Jaden asked, referring to the pinkette.

"This is my new roommate, Keiko Izumi," Erica answered.

"Nice to meet you," Keiko told Jaden. "Erica mentioned that she ran into you yesterday."

"Yep. The two of us had a pretty nice duel," Jaden confirmed. "So what're you two up to?"

"Keiko is just giving me a little tour of the academy," Erica answered.

"I was gonna show her around last night, but I forgotten that I had a hot date," Keiko admitted as she rubbed the back of her head. "I've been seeing someone from Miator for the past few weeks and it's starting to get a little serious."

"Hello there," a familiar voice spoke, getting the attention of both Erica and Jaden. The two looked to see that Akane had shown up.

Erica blushed upon seeing the dark-haired girl. "Uh… hi. You're um… Akane, right?"

"I'm flattered you remember me," Akane responded. "And your name's Erica, isn't it?"

"Yes. Erica Muller," the brown-haired girl confirmed.

"Well it was nice seeing you again, Erica," Akane replied as she patted Erica on the shoulder. "I hope we'll be seeing a lot of each other."

Erica kept her eyes on Akane as the dark-haired girl as she walked into the building. Both Jaden and Keiko could notice how taken Erica seemed to be with her.

"Yo! Erica!" Keiko spoke. "You ready to come back down to earth?"

"Keiko! You have to tell me everything you know about that woman!" Erica told her as she turned back around to face her.

"Whoa! Someone's got it bad," Keiko remarked with a smirk. "Unfortunately I don't know much, but I'll tell ya all I do know about her. The girl's name is Akane Tsukasa. I don't blame you for being smitten with her. A lot of the girls on this island are crazy about her. Anyway, from what I've heard, Akane's supposed to be Spica's newest rising star. Some people even think she even has a shot at being part of the next Etoile duo if they can just find a partner for her."

"Have you ever seen her duel?" Jaden asked Keiko.

"No. That's the thing, even though Akane's supposed to be this elite duelist, she hardly ever duels," Keiko answered. "At least not since I've been here. I've never seen her in action. The fact that she doesn't duel hasn't hurt her rep though. In fact it's made her even more mysterious."

"There you are, Jaden Yuki!" a mysterious voice spoke, causing Jaden to turn around.

Jaden turned around, and standing before him was a young woman with long raven hair wearing a Lillum uniform and a pair of red bows on the sides of her head. This was another of Jaden's old friends from the island, Lillum's student council president, Chikaru Minamoto. Chikaru's right arm was carrying a picnic basket, and her left hand was clasped in the right hand of a young woman with long blonde hair wearing a Spica uniform and a red bow on the back of her head. The blonde was another of Jaden's old friends and Spica's student council president, Shion Tomori.

"Chikaru! Shion!" Jaden responded. "It's good seeing you guys again. Hey, sorry I didn't come to meet you sooner."

"Oh don't worry. I've actually been away from the island on family business and only just got back today," Chikaru told him.

"And I've been swamped with student council work these past few days," Shion added. "Things are getting crazy around here now that the Founders Festival is underway."

"Darling, I really wish you would let your other council members handle more of the work," Chikaru told her.

"You kidding? I can't trust the big stuff with the festival to those idiots," Shion responded. "You know how unreliable Kaname and Momomi can be."

Chikaru sighed and shook her head. "Anyway Jaden, Shion and I are on our way to have a little picnic to unwind. We'd invite you along, but you know."

"Totally understand," Jaden replied.

"So what were you and your new friends here talking about when we showed up?" Chikaru asked.

"We were actually talking about Akane Tsukasa," Jaden answered.

"Akane, huh?" Shion spoke with a sigh. "That girl would be perfect to take over the Etoile position from Amane when the time finally comes."

"So she is a favorite to become the next Etoile, huh?" Jaden asked.

"Beautiful, charming, and a skilled duelist?" Erica spoke. "That settles it! I'm now totally convinced that Akane is the love I came to this island to find! Keiko, I'd like you to finish giving me that tour! Knowing the full layout of this school might be helpful later to my plans."

"You got it," Keiko replied with a shrug. And with that, Erica and Keiko headed off into the school.

"Of course the trouble is, getting Akane to agree to take part in the Etoile Tournament is turning out to be a lot harder than it was to get Amane to take part," Shion continued.

"You can't blame her for not wanting to have anything to do with the Etoile Tournament," Chikaru told her. "Especially since the girl who would've been the perfect partner for her is no longer with us."

"What do you mean?" Jaden asked.

"The story is that Akane was deeply involved with a young girl named Mahiro Mizuki," Chikaru explained. "Unfortunately, Mahiro died in a plane crash that happened quite some time ago."

"Akane was pretty devastated after it happened," Shion added. "In fact I think she's still getting over it."

"So, history really is repeating itself," Yubel observed as she appeared next to Jaden. "Once again we have a young transfer student pining after a girl still getting over a terrible loss."

"Just like with Nagisa and Shizuma," Jaden quietly realized.

Yubel nodded. "Only this time it could be a bit worse. We still don't know what it was that we sensed from Akane before. If that girl really is a threat, Erica could get hurt in more ways than one."

* * *

Please review and let me know what you think.


	6. Spica's Dark Knight

**Author's Note:** The will probably be the last update for the story until next week due to my work schedule. I'm thrilled to be able to get this chapter up now though, because I've been looking forward to doing it for quite some time. Prepare for another Legendary Planet user to be revealed!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX or Strawberry Panic.

* * *

Chapter 5: Spica's Dark Knight

It was early in the afternoon following Jaden's earlier encounter with Erica and Keiko in front of Spica, and he and Alexis had decided to go for a walk out on the Spica grounds. During the walk, Jaden had decided to tell Alexis about the situation that seemed to be forming with Erica and Akane. He felt that he needed Alexis's advice on what to do. While Jaden knew that it wasn't really any of his business, he felt like he couldn't just stand by and do nothing; especially not if Akane truly was some sort of threat. After all, if Akane really was a danger to the island, then Erica needed to be protected.

"So do you get my problem, Lex?" Jaden asked as he finished telling Alexis about what was going on. "I mean I don't know Erica all that well, but I don't want her getting hurt."

"I get that, but it really isn't your place to meddle in her relationship," Alexis pointed out.

"I sort of meddled in Nagisa and Shizuma's relationship, and that turned out okay," Jaden reminded her.

"Yeah, but from what you've told me, you really didn't have a choice but to interfere," Alexis retorted.

"We may not have a choice now," Yubel responded as she appeared next to Jaden. "Jaden and I don't know what it was we sensed from Akane before, but she could turn out to be a new enemy."

"That's a good point," Alexis admitted as she put her hand to her chin in thought. "But like you said, you don't know what it was you sensed from Akane. I think the best thing to do for now is to just wait and see what happens."

"You're probably right," Jaden agreed.

"What has you two looking so serious?" a familiar voice asked. Jaden and Alexis looked to see Lena approaching them.

"Oh. Hi Lena," Jaden responded. "We were just talking about a friend of ours."

"What brings you over here?" Alexis asked.

"Well I got through with thrashing a bunch of students from Miator and thought I'd see what the ladies from Spica were made of," the blunette answered. "I'm kind of hoping to duel the school's so-called Prince, Amane. I hear she's pretty tough."

"She'll give you a challenge alright," Jaden confirmed.

"Well, well. At long last we meet again, Jaden Yuki," a familiar voice spoke.

Jaden and the others looked, and standing before them was a tomboyish young woman in a Spica uniform with short straight dark hair and reddish eyes. Jaden instantly recognized this young woman as an old enemy of his on the island, Kaname Kenjo. With Kaname was another young woman in a Spica uniform with long light-brown hair. This was Kaname's girlfriend and partner in crime, Momomi Kiyashiki.

"What do you want, Kaname?" Jaden asked in a hostile tone.

"What else? I've come for a rematch with you," Kaname answered. "You still have to answer for how you defeated me and thwarted my plans to become Etoile."

"You mean your attempts to assault Hikari?" Jaden asked.

"Oh please! I wasn't being that rough with her," Kaname responded. "Now, what do you say we get this started?"

"Alexis! You have to duel Kaname in Jaden's place!" Yubel's voice told her.

"Why?" Alexis quietly answered.

"Just do it!" Yubel told her. "I don't want Jaden to duel that bitch if he doesn't have to. A duel like that would be too hard on him."

"Well Jaden?" Kaname spoke. "I'm waiting."

"There's no way you're getting out of this," Momomi told Jaden. "Even if you try to run, Kaname will just come after you later."

Just as Jaden was about to activate his duel disk, Alexis stepped forward. "Hold it! If you want to duel Jaden, you'll have to beat me first."

"And who the hell are you?" Kaname asked.

"I'm his girlfriend, Alexis Rhodes," the blonde answered. "And the only way you're getting to Jaden is through me."

"Of all the nerve!" Momomi shot back. "I don't care if you're Jaden Yuki's girlfriend or not! This is none of your business!"

"It's okay, Momomi," Kaname told her with a calm but sinister smile. "This girl might make a good warm-up. A duel with her might be a good chance to test out the new card I got recently."

"Well, when you put it that way…" Momomi responded.

"I accept your terms, Alexis Rhodes," Kaname finally agreed. "But you'll soon regret that you made this challenge."

"We'll see about that!" Alexis told her as the two of them activated their duel disks.

"I have no idea what's going on here, but that Kaname girl seems like a first-class bitch," Lena remarked to Jaden. "What's her beef with you anyway?"

"It's a long story," Jaden answered.

"I'll be going first!" Alexis declared as she drew her first card. "I summon Cyber Medic in Defense Mode!"

Appearing on Alexis's side of the field in a kneeling position was a young woman with straight red hair tied back in a ponytail. Atop her head was a white ball cap with a red cross on the front, and a blue visor covered her eyes. She had on a short-sleeved navy-blue shirt with pink patched on the shoulders, and a pair of white metallic gloves on her hand. The rest of her outfit consisted of a short pink skirt with powder-blue tights on over her legs, along with a pair of knee-high white metallic boots and a yellow armband on her upper right arm with the word, "Medic" written in black letters. In her right hand, the woman carried a large white case that appeared to be some kind of first-aid kit.

"I set one card on the field and end my turn!" Alexis announced.

Kaname drew her first card. "I summon Brron, Mad King of Dark World in Attack Mode!"

Materializing on Kaname's side of the field was a slender grey demon with a skeletal face, green eyes, long gangly arms, and a green robe with gold trim and a furred grey collar. Growing from his head like hair were several greenish-grey growths like fingers tipped with black spikes or claws. The demon was cackling madly, and his arms were tied together loosely with a chain. His mouth was filled with sharp fangs and was twisted into a maniacal as it tilted its head back and forth. Jaden went a bit pale upon seeing the demon.

"Hey! You okay?" Lena asked Jaden.

"I'm… I'm fine," Jaden answered.

"Oh yeah. I forgot that you don't like those Dark World monsters," Lena recalled, remembering an encounter with such monsters during the mission to rescue Jaden's friend, Blair. "Don't really get why."

"You use a Dark World deck?" a stunned Alexis asked.

"Obviously," Kaname responded. "What of it?"

"Now you know why I wanted you to duel Kaname in Jaden's place," Yubel told Alexis as she appeared next to her. "It brings back some unpleasant memories for him."

Seeing Brron again brought back some sad memories for Alexis as well. She recalled when Brron had sacrificed her in the ritual duel to create the Super Polymerization card, and the horrible things she had said to Jaden at that time. Alexis deeply regretted saying those things, especially now after how her relationship with Jaden had changed.

"I don't know what your problem is, but I'm going ahead with my turn!" Kaname declared. "I activate Dark World Lighting! With this card, I destroy your facedown card and discard a card from my hand!"

A bolt of purple lightning came down from above and struck Alexis's set card, causing it to shatter into particles of gold light.

"The card I discarded with Dark World Lightning was Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World!" Kaname announced. "And when Goldd has been discarded by a card effect, I can summon him to the field!"

Appearing on Brron's right was a large muscular black and gold demon with a skull-like face, red eyes, and a pair of gold horns on the sides of his head that curved downward. The demon had a pair of black bat-like wings on his back, and in both of his clawed hands he carried a large axe.

"Goldd! Wipe that pathetic Cyber Medic off the field!" Kaname commanded. "Dark World Axe!"

The gold and black demon charged across the field as he raised his massive axe into the air. Once in striking range, Goldd swung down the axe and cut Cyber Medic in half.

"When Cyber Medic has been destroyed in battle, I gain 400 life points for each card in my hand!" Alexis announced. "Since I hold four cards right now, I gain 1600 life points!"

Sparking gold lights rained down form above onto Alexis as her life points climbed to 5600.

"Prepare to lose every single life point you just gained!" Kaname announced. "Brron! Attack her directly! Dark World Shocker!"

The mad king flailed his bound arms and zapped Alexis with bolts of purple lightning from the tips of his fingers. Alexis cried out as the attack dropped her life points to 3800. Seeing Alexis being attacked by Brron like that almost made Jaden rush over to protect her, but he quickly stopped himself upon remembering it was just an ordinary duel.

"Since Brron just inflicted battle damage, his effect lets me discard another card," Kaname announced with an arrogant sneer. "I discard Silva, Warlord of Dark World! And since Silva was just discarded by a card effect, I can special summon him to the field as well!"

Appearing on Brron's left was a demon that was somewhat shorter than Goldd and also had a skull-like face, long grey hair, and curved silver horns on the sides of his head. He was dark-grey and had a large pair of bat-like wings that hung down like a cape. A pair of silver dagger-like blades protruded from the sides of the demon's claws.

"Because I just took damage from a direct attack, I can special summon Cyber Cyclist in Attack Mode!" Alexis announced.

Materializing on Alexis's side of the field was a young woman with shoulder-length dark hair riding atop a red bicycle. He had on a white bicycle helmet and a green visor that covered her eyes. Much of her outfit was a skintight bodysuit, the top half of which was yellow with thin black stripes running down the sides of the arms, and the bottom half was black with thin yellow stripes running down the sides of the legs. A white square with a black number seventeen was on the rider's back, and she wore white fingerless gloves and white shoes.

Kaname snickered. "That pathetic monster only has 1700 ATK. It's no match for Silva. Silva! Tear that monster to ribbons! Dark World Dagger!"

"Big mistake!" Alexis told her. "When Cyber Cyclist battles a level five or higher monster, she gains 1000 ATK during that battle!"

Just as Silva charged across the field towards Alexis's monster, Cyber Cyclist pedaled her bike as fast as she could and zoomed towards the demon at lightning speed. The cyclist became shrouded in a crackling blue light as she rammed into Silva at top speed. The collision caused Silva to shatter into particles of gold light, and Kaname's life points dropped to 3600.

"I set one card on the field and end my turn!" Kaname announced with a look of disgust.

"That girlfriend of yours sure is holding her own pretty well," Lena remarked to Jaden. "I know from experience that Dark World decks can be tough."

"Jaden!" a familiar voice spoke. Jaden looked and saw Amane approaching with Hikari. "What's Alexis doing dueling Kaname?"

"Kaname wanted to challenge me to a duel to get back at me for defeating her during my first visit on the island, but Alexis stepped up to face her instead," Jaden explained.

"Well your girlfriend picked a pretty challenging opponent," Amane told her. "Kaname's gotten stronger since the last time you faced her. People have started calling her Spica's Dark Knight."

Alexis drew her next card. "First I activate Spellbooks from the Pot, allowing us both to draw three more cards!"

"You sure that's wise?" Kaname asked as she drew three more cards from her deck. "For all you know, you could be giving me just the ammunition I need to finish you."

"I'll take my chances!" Alexis told her. "I activate Machine Angel Ritual! With this card I sacrifice both Cyber Cyclist and Cyber Tutubon to summon Cyber Angel Dakini!"

Appearing to tower behind Alexis was a massive caldron of flames, the base of which was made of several grey metal pipes. Materializing next to Cyber Cyclist soon after was a young woman with short straight teal hair clad in a skintight green, light-blue and red bodysuit. She had a yellow visor on over her eyes, and attached to the top of her head were two large red spherical bells, each with a green thorn-covered vine wrapped around it. A pair of small white-feathered wings was attached to her back, and around her neck was a choker in the form of a green vine with a red rose on the front. Around her waist was an elaborate ruffled pink tutu that was open in the front.

A tendril of fire came down from the torch and consumed both Cyber Cyclist and Cyber Tutubon. The flames quickly subsided to reveal a woman with blue skin, long straight red hair, and four muscular arms. Her chest and shoulders were covered in orange armor while her legs were covered in tight-fitting black pants. On her head was a gold helmet with a long back and a flat top. The woman's front pair of arms carried a bladed staff, while her remaining two arms carried a pair of swords.

"When Tutubon is used as a sacrifice in a Ritual Summon, her effect lets me return Machine Angel Ritual to my hand!" Alexis continued. "Not only that, when Dakini has been Ritual Summoned, my opponent is forced to choose and destroy one monster they control!"

Kaname scowled. "If I have to choose, then I pick Brron for the victim of Dakini's effect!"

Dakini twirled her staff above her head, and in seconds Brron became enveloped by a pillar of blue flames that shot up from beneath his feet. The flames quickly subsided and the demon king turned to dark ash that blew away in the wind.

"Good riddens!" Alexis remarked.

"You can say that again," Yubel agreed.

Hikari noticed as Jaden breathed a sign of relief. "You okay Jaden?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Jaden assured her.

"One of these days, you have to tell me what this weird issue you have with Dark World monsters is," Lena told him.

"Dakini, attack Goldd!" Alexis commanded. "Angelic Spear!"

Dakini charged forward and skewered the golden demon in the chest with the blade of her staff. Upon being hit, Goldd's arms went slack and she dropped his axe to the ground. Both Goldd and his weapon shattered into particles of gold light soon after, and Kaname's life points dropped to 3200.

"I activate my face-down card, Fires of Doomsday!" Kaname announced. "With this card, I summon two Doomsday Tokens to the field in Defense Mode!"

Appearing on Kaname's side of the field were two small demonic-looking entities made entirely of black flames. Both creatures were legless and had tendrils for arms, and their heads each had a single eye.

"I set one card on the field and end my turn!" Alexis announced.

Kaname drew her next card. "You're tougher than I though, but this is as far as you go. I sacrifice both Doomsday Tokens to summon The Suppression Pluto!"

A massive twister surrounded both Doomsday Tokens as they shattered into particles of gold light. In moments the twister subsided to reveal a demon with scaly purplish-black skin. It had a mouth full of fangs and two pairs of white spikes that grew upwards from the sides of its jaw. The demon's eyes were red, and it had a pair of large white horns that curved forward, along with a third vertical red eye on its forehead. There were four more red eyes on the demon's chest, and two more pairs of red eyes on the spiny plates covering the front of the demon's shoulders. It had long thick white claws on both its hands and feet, and on each of its knees was a mouth with large white fangs. On the demon's rear end was a long tail with a sharp tip, and on its back were three long whip-like tendrils that each ended with a silvery white blade.

"One of the Legendary Planets?" Alexis identified.

"Indeed. You should feel honored," Kaname told her. "You're the first person I've used this card against."

"Kaname! Where did you get that card?" Jaden demanded to know.

"If you must know, I got it as a prize for winning a recent tournament here on the island," Kaname answered.

"Mr. Pegasus presented my darling with the card personally," Momomi revealed.

"Pegasus gave it to her?" a surprised Jaden asked.

"That's right. At the time, Pegasus was visiting the island to watch the tournament," Amane explained. "After Kaname received her trophy from the headmistress, Pegasus stepped onto the stage, pulled The Suppression Pluto out of his pocket and just gave it to her."

"What the hell was that lunatic thinking giving a Planet card to someone like this bitch?" Yubel asked Alexis.

"Pluto may be a Legendary Planet, but he's still weaker than Dakini!" Alexis pointed out.

"Not for much longer," Kaname told her. "I play the Field Spell, The Gates of Dark World!"

Suddenly the sky above darkened with thick storm clouds and the ground became covered by a thick purple mist. Suddenly a massive grey demonic-looking gateway burst up from the ground behind Kaname.

"While my Dark World Gate is on the field, all Fiend monsters like Pluto gain an extra 300 ATK," Kaname continued. "Meaning that his ATK goes up from 2600 to 2900. I activate the other effect of The Gates of Dark World! I banish Brron from the Graveyard to draw one card and discard another card from my hand! And the card I discard with this effect is Beiige, Vanguard of Dark World!"

Suddenly appearing next to Pluto was a muscular grey demon with a white skeletal face and a metal band over his eyes. On his chest was a piece of armor or exoskeleton that looked like a ribcage. In his hands, the demon carried a white organic-looking spear that ended with a long silver blade.

"Due to my Dark World Gate, Beiige's ATK rises from 1600 to 1900," Kaname continued. "I now activate Pluto's effect! Once per turn, Pluto lets me declare the name of one card, and if my opponent has the card I named in their hand, I can either take control of one monster my opponent controls or destroy a Spell or Trap card they control and reset that card on my side of the field. The card I name is Machine Angel Ritual!"

Alexis revealed the card Kaname named to confirm that she had it. "You knew that I returned Machine Angel Ritual to my hand on my last turn when I summoned Dakini."

Kaname chuckled. "At first glance, Pluto's effect may seem like a major gamble. But if a duelist pays close enough attention to what cards their opponent adds to their hand and plays on the field, they can easily know what cards the enemy is holding. Now then, I could use Pluto's effect to take control of your monster and go in for an all out attack, but instead I think I'll play it safe and take control of your face-down card instead."

Pluto launched his bladed tendrils across the field and skewered the large card that Alexis had set on the field earlier. Upon being struck, the card shattered into particles of gold light. Soon after, particles of light gathered together on Kaname's side of the field and reformed into the card that Pluto had just destroyed.

"Now lets see what I caught," Kaname spoke as she pressed a button on her duel disk. Her duel disk's screen showed an image of what card she now had facedown on the field. "Doble Passe? If I knew this was all you had, I would've just used Pluto's effect to seize control of Dakini. Ah well. It's better to be safe than sorry. Besides, this way I can draw out your suffering a little longer."

"A card that can let you take control of your opponent's Spell and Trap cards. I never thought that Pluto had such a deadly effect," Lena remarked.

"Pluto! Attack Dakini!" Kaname commanded. "Three Satellites!"

"I activate the effect of Cyber Lifeguard from my hand!" Alexis announced. "By discarding Cyber Lifeguard when one of my Warrior or Fairy-Type monsters is attacked, her effect negates that attack!"

Pluto launched his tendrils across the field towards Dakini. Just as the blades of his whips were about to strike though, another monster appeared in front of Dakini. The monster in question was a young woman with blue skin and long wavy blonde hair and a blue visor over her eyes. She had on a red one-piece swimsuit, and in her right hand was a red floatation device. Cyber Lifeguard used the floatation device to knock away Pluto's tendrils before shattering into particles of gold light.

"When Cyber Lifeguard has been discarded using her effect, I can return a Warrior monster in my Graveyard to my hand!" Alexis announced. "I use this effect to take back Cyber Medic from the Graveyard!"

"You really don't know when to give up," Kaname remarked. "Oh well. For my final move, I play the Spell card, Dian Keto the Cure Master and raise my life points by 1000!"

Sparking gold lights rained down on Kaname as her life points rose to 4200.

"Kaname boosted her life points so she'd be ready to use the Trap she stole from Alexis," Jaden realized.

"I have to give her credit for thinking two moves ahead," Lena remarked.

"Like I said before, Kaname's become a much more powerful duelist," Amane told them. "Among other things, she's gotten craftier."

"This girl really is a piece of work," Alexis quietly spoke.

"That winning personality of hers is half the reason why Jaden and I don't like her," Yubel told her.

"I'll end my turn there," Kaname announced. She then began to laugh upon noticing that Amane was there. "It seems we've gained quite the audience. I hope you've been watching closely, Amane! This is the power that I'm capable of now! Once I finish with Rhodes here, I'll crush Jaden Yuki into the ground as well! Then I'll come after you and we'll finally see which of us is really the greatest duelist of Spica!"

"You're not…" Alexis spoke as he eyes began to glow in the orange and teal colors of Yubel's. "Getting anywhere near Jaden!"

As Alexis drew the next card from her deck, it briefly gave off a crackling black energy.

"Uh-oh," Jaden spoke. "I think they might be getting carried away."

"What're you talking about?" Lena asked him.

"I play the Spell card, Queen's Eyes!" Alexis announced. "With this card, I use Dakini to summon Cyber Queen Dakini!"

Dakini's eyes suddenly began to glow with the orange and teal colors of Yubel, and a second later she became enveloped in a pillar of crackling black energy that shot into the sky. The energy faded away a few seconds later to reveal Dakini in a new form. Her blue skin had turned purple and the long red hair under her helmet had become white. The golden helmet that she had on had become silver and had gained a pair of long curved yellow horns on the sides. The orange armor covering her chest and shoulders was now covered in brown scales, except for the stomach, which had a purple demonic face with red eyes. On each of her four muscular arms, Dakini now wore a pair of elbow-high fingerless gloves. In addition to her tight black pants, Dakini now also wore a pair of scaly brown knee-high boots, each with a pair of yellow claws on each toe.

"When Dakini has been Fusion Summoned, her effect destroys the monster with the lowest ATK on my opponent's side of the field!" Alexis announced.

Dakini drove the end of her spear into the ground. Soon after, a pillar of purple flames shot up from the ground beneath Beiige's feet and totally enveloped the demon. In seconds, the flames subsided and the demon's remains blew away in the wind as black ash.

"Dakini! Attack Pluto!" Alexis commanded. "Supreme Queen Spear!"

Dakini cried out and charged towards Pluto with the end of her spear aimed at his chest.

"How forgetful we are. I activate the Trap I stole from you earlier! Doble Passe!" Kaname announced. "This card turns Dakini's attack into a direct attack on me!"

Pluto sidestepped Dakini's attack, causing the Cyber Queen to charge towards Kaname. Kaname raised her arms to protect herself from the attack. Dakini's spear struck Kaname's duel disk and dropped her life points to 1000. The force of the impact from the spear also forced Kaname back a couple steps, which surprised her greatly.

"And now… Pluto attacks you directly!" Kaname declared as she quickly got over her initial shock. "Three Satellites!"

Pluto launched his bladed tendrils across the field at Alexis. Alexis raised her arms to shield herself, but the attack caused her life points to drop to 900.

"And now that you've wasted your attack, I'll be able to destroy that strange monster of yours on the next turn," Kaname stated. "It really was foolish of you to forget about that Trap I stole from you."

"Who says I forgot about it?" Alexis asked.

Before Kaname could ask what she meant, Dakini cried out again as her body started to give off a brilliant purple aura. The weapons she was carrying shattered into particles of black energy as she clenched her fists in rage.

"W-what's going on?" a started Kaname asked.

"Whenever I take damage, Dakini gains ATK equal to the damage I've taken until the end of the turn," Alexis explained. "Not only that, when I take battle damage and Dakini has already attacked, she can make a second attack during the same turn! Dakini! Attack Pluto again! Queen's Rage!"

Dakini rushed over and cried out in an animalistic rage as she began to pummel Pluto with all four of her fists. Her arms were moving with such speed that to the eye it seemed like she had forty arms instead of just four. The beat-down seemed to go on for almost five minutes and ended when Dakini delivered a final punch to the side of Pluto's jaw. The demon was knocked off his feet and shattered into particles of light before hitting the ground, and Kaname's life points dropped to zero. With the duel over, Dakini let out one primal shriek before vanishing, and the surrounding area returned to normal.

"Now get lost!" Alexis ordered.

Kaname was about to say something, but gasped when she finally noticed that Alexis's eyes were still glowing. Momomi noticed the blonde's glowing eyes as well.

"Let's go," Kaname told Momomi before fixing her eyes on Jaden. "Don't think for a moment that this is over, Jaden Yuki. Now you have even more to answer for."

With that, Kaname and Momomi left. As soon as they were both gone, Alexis breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

"That got pretty intense there at the end," Lena remarked as she and the others came over. "Remind me never to tick you off."

"Hey guys? Can you give me and Lex some space?" Jaden requested.

"No problem," Amane answered. "We'll see you later."

With that, Amane and Hikari walked off. Lena walked off as well in her own direction.

"Geez you guys! You really got out of hand towards the end there," Jaden told them.

"Sorry," Yubel spoke as she reappeared next to Alexis. "I wanted Alexis to duel Kaname because I was afraid you'd get too carried away with dueling her and injure by accident. But then Lexie and I end up doing the same thing."

"She really does seem like a horrible woman," Alexis declared. "And with her using a Dark World deck on top of everything else… I guess I sort of lost my temper."

"We both did," Yubel added.

"Guess we should both try to do our best to stay away from Kaname," Jaden realized. "Hey, let's go back to the villa. I think we could all use some time alone."

"That sounds good to me," Alexis agreed.

* * *

Erica and Keiko were just finishing up their tour of Spica. As they were about to leave the building and head back to the dorms, Erica noticed a large poster pinned to the bulletin board by the door and went over to examine it.

"The Founders Ball?" Erica spoke as she read the title of the poster.

"It's some big event that's part of the Founders Festival that's going on right now," Keiko explained. "Everyone around here's been talking about it since Spica is hosting the ball this year. Word is it's supposed to be one of the most romantic events of the season."

"That's it… I'll ask Akane to go with me to the ball," Erica decided.

"Wow! Pretty bold, don't you think?" Keiko told her.

"My Uncle Erich always told me to never be afraid to go after what I want, no matter what," Erica responded. "I'll ask Akane to go to the ball with me. And if my instincts are right, I'm positive she'll say yes."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I hope everyone enjoyed the duel seen in this chapter. I had been thinking over how this duel was going to go ever since I came up with the idea for the story itself, so it was a real blast to finally be able to write it. Alexis ended up using a lot of totally new cards that I made up just for this series, so I thought I'd go ahead and showcase them here briefly. First we have the second member of the Cyber Queens.

 **Cyber Queen Dakini**

DARK/Fairy/Fusion/Effect/10/ATK 3200/DEF 2900

"Cyber Angel Dakini" + "Yubel"

Cannot be destroyed in battle with non-Fusion Monsters. When this card is successfully Fusion Summoned: Destroy 1 monster on your opponent's side of the field with the lowest ATK (your opponent's choice, if tied). When you take damage from battle or an opponent's card effect: This card gains ATK equal to that damage until the End Phase. During your Battle Phase, if you took battle damage and this card has already attacked: It can make a second attack.

The Spell card used to summon Dakini, Queen's Eyes originally debuted in my previous GX story, _Viper's Grudge_. I thought long and hard about what Cyber Queen Dakini's effect should be. From the beginning, I had planned for Kaname to steal Doble Passe from Alexis using Pluto's effect, so when it came time to finally write the outline for the duel, I decided that Dakini's effect should be able to counter Doble Passe in some way. If this were a real card, another way to use it would be to ram Dakini into stronger monsters, boost her ATK with the damage taken, and use her to attack that monster again.

One complaint I got from a reviewer when writing _Viper's Grudge_ was how they were expecting Alexis to get some new Cyber Girl monsters and didn't get any. I decided to use this chapter as a way to make up for that.

 **Cyber Cyclist**

EARTH/Warrior/Effect/4/ATK 1700/DEF 400

Can be Special Summoned (from the hand) when you take damage from a direct attack. When this card battles a Level 5 or higher monster: Increase its ATK by 1000 during the Damage Step only.

The existing Cyber Girl cards are based on figure skating, ballet and gymnastics, but I decided that they could be based on other sports as well. Thus I had the idea for Cyber Cyclist. Her ATK increase effect is based on Yusei's Speed Warrior. Now here are the other two Cyber Girls from this chapter.

 **Cyber Medic**

LIGHT/Warrior/Effect/3/ATK 700/DEF 2000

When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard: Gain 400 life points times the number of cards in your hand.

 **Cyber Lifeguard**

LIGHT/Warrior/Effect/4/ATK 1400/DEF 600

When a Warrior-Type or Fairy-Type monster you control would be destroyed by battle: You can discard this card from your hand; negate that attack and return 1 Warrior-Type monster other than "Cyber Lifeguard" to your hand.

I figured that any major sporting event needs some trained medical personal on duty in case the athletes injure themselves. For example, a gymnast can run the risk of failing to stick the landing and mess up their ankle.

I hope everyone enjoyed this little featured card corner of mine. Stay tuned next week for the next chapter. In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.


	7. Miator Reunions, Part 1

**Author's Note:** This chapter will not only introduce a couple more members of the cast, but also begin to resolve some issues left over from Strawberry Crisis and Dark Queen of Miator that I kind of left unsettled.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX or Strawberry Panic.

* * *

Chapter 6: Miator Reunions, Part 1

It was a peaceful morning as Shizuma and Nagisa sat in the dining room eating breakfast. Jaden's cat, Pharaoh was sitting at one of the large windows in the room looking at birds. It was about ten minutes after Nagisa and Shizuma had sat down when Jaden and Alexis finally arrived. Breakfast for the other couple had already been laid out. Nagisa had prepared it for them due to the house having no servants on duty.

"About time you two showed up," Shizuma spoke as she sipped from her cup of coffee. "We were starting to wonder if you two had gotten sick."

"We were just… up a little late last night," Alexis responded with a slight blush.

"Ah! Well then, I'm glad I had you two take a room all the way on the other side of the house," Shizuma responded. "Nagisa and I don't need to hear that sort of noise."

"So Alexis, I heard that you dueled Kaname Kenjo yesterday," Nagisa spoke.

"Yeah. She was pretty tough," Alexis admitted.

"I can't believe that Pegasus would give one of the Legendary Planets to someone like her," Jaden remarked as he sat down.

"I have to admit though, The Suppression Pluto seems like a good match for someone like Kaname," Yubel remarked as she appeared next to Jaden.

At that moment, a sound like a giant gong rang throughout the whole house. The noise caused Nagisa to flinch and let out a startled cry, and caused Pharaoh to jump at least two feet in the air.

"What on earth was that?" Alexis asked.

"That was just the doorbell," Shizuma calmly answered.

"Does it really have to be that loud?" Nagisa asked.

"It is a big house," Shizuma pointed out. "That's why the doorbell needs to be loud enough to be heard from anywhere inside. Anyway, it looks like we have a visitor."

"I'll get the door," Jaden told the others as he got back up.

A few moments later, Jaden had reached the front door to the villa. Upon opening the door, Jaden was greeted by the sight of Amane wearing her riding outfit.

"Good morning, Amane," Jaden spoke as he peeked his head out the door. He saw Amane's white horse hitched to one of the rails around the front porch. "Wow. You rode all the way out here on horseback?"

"It seemed like the quickest way to get here," Amane replied with a rather serious expression. "You mind if I come in? I have something to tell both Shizuma and Nagisa. Actually, you might want to hear what I have to say too."

"Uh, sure. Come on in," Jaden responded as he stepped aside to let Amane enter.

In a few moments, Jaden and Amane were back in the dining room.

"Amane! This is a pleasant surprise," Nagisa spoke.

"I'm afraid I can't stay too long," Amane told them. "I came to tell you about a couple more guests that will be arriving on the island later today for the Founders Festival. It's Miyuki and Tamao."

Nagisa let out a startled gasp upon hearing those names. Shizuma was visibly startled as well before her expression quickly darkened. Jaden had a similar reaction.

"Um, am I missing something?" Alexis asked upon noticing the sudden tension among the others. "Who're Miyuki and Tamao?"

"Oh… just some old friends of ours," Shizuma calmly answered. "So they're coming for the festival as well?"

"Yeah. They would've been here at the reception when you guys arrived, but they were delayed by this tournament Miyuki was playing in," Amane explained. "Tamao and Miyuki are traveling together, by the way."

"And you say they'll be here some time this afternoon?" Jaden asked.

Amane nodded. "Hikari and I only found out about it this morning. Anyway, Hikari thought you guys should know that they'll be arriving soon so you wouldn't caught off guard. I get that things are a little complicated between you all."

"Yes, well… thanks for the heads-up," Shizuma told her.

"Well, I better be on my way," Amane told them. "I'll see you all later."

With that, Amane left the room. There was a heavy awkward silence in the room for several moments after she left.

"Nagisa, you and Shizuma going to be okay with seeing Tamao and Miyuki again?" Jaden asked.

"Uh… of course!" Nagisa responded. "Why wouldn't we?"

"I really am missing something, aren't I?" Alexis realized.

"You have no idea," Yubel told her as she appeared next to her.

* * *

After breakfast, Jaden and Alexis had left the villa to go out for a walk. Jaden had decided that Nagisa and Shizuma needed some time alone, and meanwhile Alexis needed to be informed about the history that the couple had with the island's incoming guests.

"So what exactly is it about these two people Amane told us about that has Nagisa and Shizuma so on edge?" Alexis asked.

"Well Miyuki is one of Shizuma's oldest friends here on the island," Jaden began. "They both went to Miator, and the two of them used to be roommates for a while. And Tamao was Nagisa's roommate when Nagisa first started attending Miator."

"But Shizuma and Nagisa didn't look at all happy to find out that they'll be visiting the island," Alexis pointed out. "In fact Shizuma seemed a bit mad."

"There's a reason for that," Jaden told her. "I told you about the stuff that happened the first time I visited the island."

"You mean the incident with Pegasus' apprentice, Yako Tenma?" Alexis recalled. "You were trying to stop Tenma from getting together those cards that he had created, the Wicked Gods."

"What I didn't tell you was that Miyuki was helping Tenma," Jaden revealed. "Of course she was doing it to help Shizuma. Tenma had told her about his theory that the power of the Wicked Gods could be used to bring back the dead. Miyuki wanted to use that power to bring back Shizuma's first love, Kaori. Kaori's death had left Shizuma in a bad place, at least until she met Nagisa. Miyuki was just trying to do something to end Shizuma's pain."

"So her heart was in the right place at least," Alexis noted.

"Yes, but you know what they say, Lexie," Yubel spoke as she reappeared to them. "The road to hell is paved with good intentions."

"The only thing that happened when Tenma gathered together the Wicked Gods was the resurrection of Zorc Necrophades," Jaden added. "She had no idea anything like that would happen, but Shizuma was furious with her afterwards because of how Nagisa had been hurt by the power of The Wicked Avatar. At the time, I was pretty mad at her too."

"From the looks of things, Shizuma's probably still mad with her about what happened," Alexis realized. "But what's the story with Tamao?"

"This is where things get real twisted," Yubel told her. "You see Tamao developed a real crush on our dear Nagisa."

"Oh boy," Alexis responded. "And Nagisa didn't feel the same way."

"Nagisa saw Tamao as a good friend, but nothing else," Jaden confirmed. "Plus at the time, Nagisa had already fallen for Shizuma. Of course at the time, Shizuma was still dealing with Kaori's death. Because of that, Nagisa ended up sort of getting rejected by her at first."

"And then Tamao swooped in to get her on the rebound," Yubel added. "If that wasn't bad enough, Tamao pressured Nagisa into taking part in the Etoile Tournament with her, with Miyuki's help. Of course Miyuki did that partly to try and keep the Etoile title with Miator and to get Nagisa out of the way. After all, Shizuma's relationship with Nagisa was throwing off her little resurrection plan."

"So my guess is that things between Nagisa and Tamao didn't end well," Alexis deduced.

Jaden shook his head. "Just when the two of them were about to take part in the tournament together, Nagisa ended up getting corrupted by The Wicked Avatar and attacked Tamao out of rage. Then later, Nagisa and Shizuma finally ended up together."

"Then later on, Tamao somehow ended up with that Orichalcos Stone ring that caused her to try and remake the world," Yubel added. "Jaden and I had to fight her when we were here for the Astraea Star Cup."

"Remake the world?" Alexis asked.

"She wanted to make a world where love didn't exist," Jaden explained. "She was furious about how everyone around her seemed to find love while she was always alone. Of course Tamao went back to normal after I defeated her, except that she had partial amnesia. The last time I saw her, she didn't remember a thing about Nagisa."

"So Miyuki and Tamao's visit to the island is going to be pretty rough for both Shziuma and Nagisa," Alexis realized. "Then again, this could be a good thing for everyone. From what you've told me, things between Nagisa and Tamao were left unresolved. And the same goes for Shizuma and Miyuki. This could be a chance for them to finally settle things."

"Maybe," Jaden replied. "Then again, the four of them could end up getting hurt even worse."

* * *

It was the middle of the afternoon as Jaden arrived at Miator by himself. He hadn't been back to the island's oldest academy since his arrival, and he wanted to see if the place had changed much since the last time he was there. As Jaden toured the building, it seemed that the school was more or less the same as before.

"Jaden!" a familiar voice spoke, causing Jaden to turn around.

Standing before him in the hallway was a young woman with long blue hair tied back in a ponytail and blue eyes. She wore a large white bow on the back of her head, and her outfit consisted of a short-sleeved white shirt with a dark-blue vest and a long blue skirt that went down just past her knees, along with polished black shoes and a pair of knee-high white socks. Jaden instantly recognized this young woman as Tamao Suzumi.

"Hi Tamao," Jaden spoke. "I heard this morning that you were coming to the island."

"And I heard that you were here as well as a guest for the festival," Tamao responded. "It's wonderful seeing you again."

"Same here," Jaden told her. "You're looking pretty good."

"I know. I've improved quite a bit since the last time you saw me," Tamao replied. "You can thank Miyuki for that."

"Jaden Yuki," another familiar voice spoke.

Jaden looked past Tamao, and standing behind the blunette was a taller young woman with straight shoulder-length dark-blue hair. The other woman had a serious and rather stern expression on her face, and wore a black leather jacket with a dark-blue shirt, along with tight black jeans and black boots. This woman was none other than Miyuki Rokujo.

"Miyuki," Jaden spoke as his expression turned serious. "I heard you were coming too."

"Tamao, could you give me and Jaden a moment alone?" Miyuki requested.

"Sure," Tamao agreed before walking past Miyuki and heading down the hall.

"You don't seem pleased to see me," Miyuki observed. "I take it you still hold a grudge over what I did during your first visit to the island."

"I'd be lying if I said I've totally gotten over what you did, but I get why you did it," Jaden told her. "So you and Tamao have been traveling together?"

"Since you last saw her," Miyuki confirmed. "When she became well enough to travel, I decided that it would be in her best interests if she remained in my personal care. You should know that Tamao still has some amnesia from when you defeated her in that duel."

"Then that must mean she still doesn't remember Nagisa," Jaden assumed. "That could make things even more difficult. You do know that Nagisa is here on the island too."

"Yes… I thought she might be," Miyuki responded as her expression softened a bit. "Which means that Shizuma is here as well."

"She and Nagisa found out that you and Tamao were coming to the island this morning," Jaden informed her. "You should probably know that Shizuma didn't seem all that happy when she heard, which means you might want to stay clear of her."

"It's just as well. I find that I'm still not quite ready to face Shizuma just yet," Miyuki replied. "But I plan to confront her eventually while I'm here. She and I have much to discuss."

"I'm not interested in a single thing you have to say, Miyuki," a familiar voice spoke.

Jaden and Miyuki looked to see that Shizuma had arrived. The silver-haired duelist's arms were crossed, and while her expression was calm, Jaden could see the anger burning in her eyes.

"Shziuma, I…" Miyuki began.

"Save it!" Shizuma shot back as she approached, cutting Miyuki off. "After everything you and that maniac, Tenma did to Nagisa, do you really think I'd be open to anything you'd have to say to me? Do you think that I could just forget about the whole thing and act like nothing happened at all?"

"Of course not!" Miyuki responded. "But you need to know that the only reason I helped Tenma was for you! All I wanted was for you to become your old self again, before you lost Kaori. At the time I thought that if I could some how bring her back…"

In that instant, Shziuma slapped Miyuki hard in the face. "And that's the other thing! It's bad enough that Nagisa got hurt! But to talk about the idea of bringing Kaori back with some madman's science project… talking about her like that is a dishonor to her memory."

"Yes. I can see that," Miyuki replied as she touched her slapped cheek. "I'm sorry for that. I'm sorry for a lot of things… most of all for being so blind back then. I told you that I wanted to bring you back to your old self, and failed to realize that Nagisa was doing just that. Had I realized that, then I…"

"It's too late for apologies Miyuki," Shizuma told her. "The fact is you helped that maniac and hurt Nagisa in the process. Nothing you do can ever make up for that."

With that, Shizuma stormed off. Miyuki let out a heavy sigh as she left.

"You can't blame Shizuma for reacting that way," Jaden told her.

"No… no I cannot," Miyuki replied. "I truly hoped that the two of us could patch things up, but it seems I was wrong. Well… if you'll excuse me, Tamao is probably wondering where I am right now."

With that, Miyuki walked off looking totally dejected.

"Well, that pretty much went about like we expected," Yubel remarked as she appeared next to Jaden.

"Yeah. But now I'm a little more worried about what'll happen when Nagisa runs into Tamao again," Jaden told her. "My guess is it'll be just as rough."

* * *

Erica had been as nervous as she had ever been since the day began. She had made it her mission to ask Akane to the upcoming Founders Ball. At every opportunity between classes Erica had been searching everywhere for Akane. Finally she had spotted the dark-haired student heading for the courtyard and followed after her discreetly. By the time Erica made it out to the courtyard though, Akane had seemingly vanished.

"Darn," Erica quietly spoke. "Where could she have gone?"

"Well hello there," a voice spoke from behind, causing Erica to let out a started cry. The brown-haired girl turned around to see Akane standing before her.

"Uh… hi," Erica spoke.

"I thought I noticed you following me earlier," Akane responded. "Is there something you want?'

"I, um… uh… you know about the Founders Ball that's coming up in a few days, right?" Erica asked.

"Sure. Everyone knows about that," Akane answered. "What about it?"

"I… I wanted to ask you… if you would go with me to the ball!" Erica blurted out.

Akane looked at Erica for several tense moments before her mouth finally curved into a smirk. "Sure. Seems like fun. Well, see ya later."

With that, Akane kissed Erica's hand, causing the brown-haired girl's face to turn even redder. Soon after, the dark-haired girl left. Once she was gone, Erica managed to stagger over to a nearby bench and sit down before she collapsed. She was so overcome with relief and happiness that she could hardly stand.

At that moment, Keiko showed up. "Just saw you talking with Akane. So how'd it go? Did you ask her?"

"I did," Erica confirmed. "And she agreed to go with me to the ball."

"That's great!" Keiko cheered as she gave her roommate a gentle punch to the arm. "Of course now you'll need something to wear to the thing. This event's supposed to be pretty fancy, you know."

"…You're right," Erica realized as she finally got back to her feet. "There's still much work that needs to be done. Keiko, I'm going to need a sewing machine!"

* * *

Jaden had made it out to Miator's courtyard to find Nagisa out pacing around. The redhead looked more worried than Jaden had ever seen her.

"Hey there," Jaden spoke, getting Nagisa's attention. "You okay?"

"I guess so," Nagisa answered. "Actually… I've been on edge ever since I heard that Tamao was coming back to the island. I'm really worried about seeing her again. We didn't exactly part on good terms, you know."

"Yeah… Nagisa, there's something you should know about Tamao," Jaden began.

"There you are, Jaden!" a familiar voice spoke.

Both Jaden and Nagisa looked to see Tamao coming towards them. Nagisa turned almost totally pale upon seeing the blunette.

"Hey Tamao. What's up?" Jaden asked.

"I wanted to talk to you about what happened between Miyuki and Ms. Shizuma," Tamao answered. "I don't know exactly what Ms. Shizuma said to her, but Miyuki's a totally wreck right now."

"Hi Tamao," Nagisa spoke, getting the blunette's attention.

"Um, hello. I don't believe we've met before," Tamao responded. "Are you a friend of Jaden's?"

Nagisa was totally taken aback. "Tamao, don't you…"

"Yeah. Tamao, this is Nagisa, Shizuma's girlfriend," Jaden introduced. "Nagisa and I became pretty good friends during my first visit to the island."

"Oh! I forgot you told me that you had come to the island once before you took part in the Astraea Star tournament," Tamao recalled. "I really do wish I could remember that time. So Ms. Nagisa, was it? Did you and I know each other before?"

"Uh… yeah. Yeah, we did," Nagisa confirmed.

"I see. I hope you'll forgive me. My memory isn't exactly what it used to be," Tamao told her. "I apparently suffered a bad accident while taking part in the Astraea Star Tournament and suffered from partial amnesia, not that I remember it happening."

"Oh… I'm sorry to hear that," Nagisa responded.

"Anyway Jaden, can you tell me anything at all about what happened with Miyuki and Ms. Shizuma?" Tamao asked.

"It's not really my place to say," Jaden told her.

"I see… well, I just thought I'd ask," Tamao replied. "Thank you, Jaden. Ms. Nagisa, it was nice meeting you again."

With that, Tamao turned and left. Nagisa meanwhile was left totally bewildered.

"I kept thinking about how Tamao would react when she saw me again," Nagisa spoke. "But I never imagined anything like this. She really doesn't remember me?"

"That's what I tried to tell you about before Tamao showed up," Jaden told her. "During the Astraea Star Tournament, Tamao had become corrupted by something called an Orichalcos Stone. I managed to free her from it, but in the process Tamao lost all her memories from the time when you first came to Miator."

"She remembered you though," Nagisa pointed out.

"Because I stayed with Tamao for a while after the tournament to make sure she was okay," Jaden explained. "I would've thought that she would've gotten her memory back by now, but Miyuki told me earlier that she was pretty much the same. I guess I should've told you about all this sooner. Sorry."

"It's fine," Nagisa replied. "I guess in a way it's a good thing Tamao doesn't remember me, but… I honestly don't know how to feel about this."

* * *

Alexis was out for a walk of her own near Miator grounds when she spotted Miyuki atop a nearby hill that gave a good new of the ocean. The blonde recognized Miyuki from a picture she had seen earlier of her on a wall inside Miator showing pictures of past student council presidents. Alexis decided that it was the perfect opportunity to get Miyuki's side of the story on things and went up the hill.

"Hi," Alexis spoke, getting Miyuki's attention. "I'm Alexis Rhodes. Jaden Yuki's my boyfriend. I've also become pretty good friends with Shizuma. Do you mind if we talk?"

"Not at all," Miyuki replied. "Though I'm surprised you want anything to do with me. I'm sure that Mr. Yuki has given you a bad impression of me."

"He told me about how you helped Yako Tenma," Alexis confirmed as she came near. "Jaden also told me about why you helped him. I know that you were only trying to help Shizuma. You must really care about her a lot."

"The simple truth is that I was in love with Shizuma," Miyuki revealed. "But I never had the courage to admit my feelings for her. Plus at the time I was arranged to eventually marry someone else, though that arrangement has long since been voided. My mother has been quite accepting of my decision to abandon that arrangement, but my father is still coping with it."

"So it must've been tough to see Shizuma fall in love with two other people," Alexis assumed.

"It was, though my objections to Shizuma's relationships were out of concern for Shizuma's happiness," Miyuki told her. "I objected to Shizuma's relationship with Kaori because I was certain it wouldn't end well. From the beginning, I knew that Kaori wasn't long for this world because of her poor health, and that her death would devastate Shizuma. Sadly, I was right. As for Shizuma's relationship with Nagisa, I dismissed it out of hand because I felt certain that Nagisa was incapable of helping Shizuma get over her grief. That time I was quite wrong."

"Are you still in love with Shizuma?" Alexis asked.

A slight smile came to Miyuki's face as she shook her head. "I've long since moved on. Shizuma may have been my first love, but a future with her is impossible; has been for years. I still would like for us to remain friends… but even that seems to be impossible now."

"Have you tried talking to Shizuma?" Alexis asked.

"Yes. I encountered her earlier and tried to speak with her, but she wanted nothing to do with me," Miyuki answered. "I can't blame her for that. But as much as I want out friendship to go on, there's no way she'll ever want to speak with me again."

"But you can't just leave things like this," Alexis told her. "I have an idea about how you and Shizuma can settle things…"

* * *

Shizuma arrived in Miator's courtyard to find Nagisa sitting on a bench looking a bit distressed. Jaden was standing nearby.

"Nagisa," Shizuma spoke as she came near, getting the redhead's attention. "Everything okay?"

"I ran into Tamao earlier," Nagisa revealed. "She didn't even remember who I was."

"Are you serious?" a surprised Shizuma asked.

"It's true. Tamao suffered partial amnesia because of something that happened during the Astraea Star Tournament," Jaden explained. "It's kind of a long story, but she doesn't remember anything from when Nagisa first came to Miator."

"I see," Shizuma spoke as she came over and sat next to Nagisa on the bench. "How do you feel about that?"

"Honestly… I'm not okay with this at all," Nagisa admitted. "A part of me was relieved at first that Tamao didn't remember her feelings for me, but… it kind of hurts that Tamao doesn't remember me at all. Despite everything else, she was still one of the first friends I made here on this island; the first friend I made at Miator. I still hoped that we could keep being friends even after I pretty much rejected her. What I really hate though is now I'll never be able to resolve how she and I left things before. I mean… we didn't exactly part on good terms."

Shizuma put an arm around Nagisa and pulled her close. "I totally understand. It's hard to know that you'll never have closure."

"Hey Jaden!" a familiar voice spoke.

Jaden and the others looked to see Sheila approaching with Tabitha. Chikaru and Shion were with them.

"What's up guys?" Jaden asked.

"Your old friends were just giving us a little tour of the island," Sheila revealed.

"The moment Chikaru heard that these two were friends of yours, she insisted on giving them the royal treatment," Shion told him.

Sheila came up to whisper in Jaden's ear. "You were not kidding when you said that Tabitha and I were going to like it here on this island. I think seeing all these other lady couples around here is causing Tabitha to finally loosen up a bit."

"Glad to hear it," Jaden quietly responded.

At that point, Chikaru noticed that Jaden, Shizuma and Nagisa all seemed to be a bit down. "Did we come at a bad time?"

"We had some run-ins with Miyuki and Tamao earlier," Jaden explained.

"I think I can understand where you're coming from," Shion remarked. "I've never exactly been fond of dealing with those two, especially with Miyuki."

"Who exactly are these people you and Jaden are talking about?" Tabitha asked.

"Just a couple of former student council presidents from Miator," Chikaru explained. "They always gave my poor Shion such a hard time."

"Shizuma!" a familiar voice spoke.

Everyone looked to see Miyuki standing a few feet away with a duel disk. Both Alexis and Tamao were with her.

Shizuma got back to her feet. "I told you that I wanted nothing more to do with you, Miyuki!"

"I'm afraid I cannot accept that," Miyuki responded. "That's why I'm challenging you to a duel here and now! Do you accept, or are you just going to walk away?"

Shizuma stepped forward. "You know I've never backed down from any challenge. Okay. If you want a duel, that's fine! It seems like a good opportunity to teach you a lesson."

With that, the two of them activated their duel disks. Alexis meanwhile walked over to where Jaden was standing.

"Lexie, are you sure this is a good idea?" Yubel asked as she appeared next to them.

"Wait, Lex. Did you give Miyuki the idea to challenge Shizuma?" Jaden asked.

"The two of them just can't leave things between them the way they are," Alexis answered. "And they are both duelists, after all. This seems like the best way for them to resolve what's happened."

"I'll start this off!" Shizuma declared. "I summon Elemental Hero Clayman in Defense Mode!"

A rose-colored version of Clayman appeared on Shizuma's side of the field in a kneeling position.

"I set two cards on the field and end my turn!" Shizuma announced.

Miyuki drew her first card. "Since you have at least two Spell and Trap cards on the field, I'm able to special summon Escher the Frost Vassal!"

Materializing on Miyuki's side of the field was a warrior clad almost entirely in smooth rounded ice-blue armor. He had yellow eyes and wore a blue mask on his face, and atop his head was a helmet with a round wide blue brim. Hanging from his back was a short red cape, and front the front of his belt hung a red breechcloth. The warrior sat hovering on the field with his legs crossed, and a thick patch of ice shards formed beneath where he floated.

"I sacrifice Escher to summon Mobius the Frost Monarch!" Miyuki announced.

A twister of wind formed around Escher as he suddenly shattered into particles of gold light. In seconds the twister died away to reveal a much larger warrior covered in thick ice-blue armor. He had yellow eyes, and covering his face was a pointed two-layered mask. Hanging from his back was a long blue cape with a purple underside.

"When Mobius has been tribute summoned, I can destroy two Spell and Trap cards on the field!" Miyuki announced.

The two large cards that Shizuma had set on the field earlier suddenly became covered in a thick layer of ice and shattered to pieces.

"Wasn't expecting that," Jaden remarked. "Miyuki is using a totally different deck from before."

"I hope Shizuma beats Rokujo into the ground," Shion declared. "C'mon Hanazono! I want you to tear that woman to pieces! I wanna see some blood out there!"

"Darling, maybe you should tone it down a bit," Chikaru told her. "This situation seems tense enough as it is."

"So you're using a Frost Monarch deck now, huh?" Shizuma observed. "What happened to the Harpie deck you used before?"

"I've changed quite a bit since the last time you saw me," Miyuki told her. "This deck is a reflection of who I've become. Mobius! Attack Clayman! Ice Age Wrath!"

Mobius struck the ground with his fist and sent a wave of ice shards towards Clayman. Upon being hit, the stone-armored hero shattered into particles of gold light and the ice shards melted away.

"I end my turn," Miyuki announced.

Shizuma drew her next card and smirked. "I activate Graceful Charity! With this card I draw three more cards and discard two! Next I activate Miracle Fusion and banish Elemental Hero Heat and Elemental Hero Lady Heat, which I just discarded with Graceful Charity, and fuse them together to summon Elemental Hero Inferno!"

Heat and Lady Heat appeared on the field and flew into a small transparent vortex that had appeared in the sky above. Dropping down out of the vortex a few seconds later was a much larger muscular hero clad in white and red armor. He had yellow eyes and a flame-like crown atop his head. The hero's hands glowed like burning magna. In the center of his chest was a hole in the armor that revealed molten lava.

"Next I activate the Spell card, E – Emergency Call and add Elemental Hero Ocean to my hand!" Shizuma announced. "I activate Polymerization and fuse Ocean with Elemental Hero Woodsman in my hand to summon Elemental Hero Terra Firma!"

Ocean and Woodsman materialized on the field next to Infero and flew into another transparent vortex that had appeared above the battlefield. Terra Firma dropped down out of the vortex moments later and landed on the ground with a loud thud.

"I attack Mobius with Inferno!" Shizuma announced. "And when Inferno does battle with a Water monster like Mobius, he gains 1000 ATK during the battle!"

Inferno fired a stream of flames from the center of his chest at Mobius. Upon being hit, the Frost Monarch melted away to nothing and Miyuki's life points dropped to 3100.

"A Frost Monarch deck was the worst possible deck you could've used against you, Miyuki," Shizuma declared. "Terra Firma! Attack her directly! Terra Firma Impact!"

Terra Firma flew across the field and rammed into Miyuki with both fists. The impact nearly knocked Miyuki off her feet and dropped her life points to a mere 600.

"What'd Shizuma mean when she said that a Frost Monarch deck was the worst possible deck Miyuki could've used against her?" Alexis asked.

"A large part of Shizuma's strategy focuses on using Terra Firma with Absolute Zero," Nagisa explained. "To make that combo more powerful, she sometimes uses cards like DNA Transplant to turn the opponent's monsters into Water monsters to power Absolute Zero up, and that move also helps Inferno too."

"And since a Frost Monarch deck uses mostly Water monsters, Shizuma's deck is set up perfectly to counter it," Sheila realized. "Talk about brining a knife to a gun fight."

"I end my turn!" Shizuma announced.

"You're still as amazing as always, Shizuma," Miyuki remarked as she recovered from the hit she just took. "The truth is I've always idolized you. You were probably the greatest duelist ever to attend Miator. Both Terra Firma and the Etoile position were suited perfectly for you. To me you were like the sun."

"If you think that flattering me is going to change anything between us, you're wrong," Shizuma coldly responded.

"I was always dazzled by you, Shizuma," Miyuki continued. "You were a light I could never reach. But now… my goal is to reach the same level you've achieved! And I'm about to show you that I have!" With that, she drew her next card. "I activate Monster Reborn and summon Escher back to the field!"

On cue, Escher reappeared on Miyuki's side of the field with a flash of white light.

"Next I activate the Spell card, Vassal Duplication!" Miyuki announced. "With this card, I summon two more Vassal monsters I from my deck with the same name as the one I control!"

Suddenly two more copies of Escher materialized on the field.

"Now I sacrifice all three of my monsters to summon The Tripper Mercury!" Miyuki announced.

All three Frost Vassals shattered into particles of gold light as a massive twister surrounded them. In a few moments the twister subsided to reveal a robotic-looking woman clad in blue, silver and black armor. She had a white mask-like face with yellow eyes, and on her head was a tall blue helmet that had a golden crest above a red diamond-shaped gem on the front. A thick silver collar with red stones surrounded her neck, and hanging from her back was an ice-blue cape. She had a small yellow diamond on the front of her chest, and floating next to each shoulder were two blue and silver pods, each with a section of yellow on the top. Around her waist was a short skirt made from diamond-shaped segments of blue and silver armor. In each hand, the woman carried a sword with a silver handle and a large hooked blade made of blue light.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Shion exclaimed. "That bitch has one of the Legendary Planets?"

"Surprised Shizuma?" Miyuki asked. "I now have a card that's in the same class as Terra Firma."

"That is pretty unexpected," Shizuma admitted. "But Legendary Planet or not, Mercury only has 2000 ATK. She's no match for Terra Firma or Inferno."

"Don't be so sure," Miyuki told her. "Mercury! Attack Terra Firma and Inferno! Temperature Change!"

Mercury charged across the field towards Terra Frima and Inferno. As she came near, both heroes suddenly became frozen in ice. With a single slash of both her swords, Inferno and Terra Firma were cut to pieces, and Shizuma's life points dropped to a mere 1000.

Shizuma was left totally bewildered by the attack. "That's… impossible."

"As I told you before Shizuma, I've since strived to become your equal," Miyuki responded. "And from the damage I was just able to inflict on you, it seems that I may have actually surpassed you."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** When I first had the idea for this story, I knew right away that I wanted Miyuki to be the one to use The Tripper Mercury. To me, that card just seemed to suit her perfectly, just like how The Suppression Pluto seemed like a perfect fit for Kaname. When the time finally came to do the outline for this story though, I realized that Miyuki was also going to need an entirely new deck from the one she used in _Strawberry Crisis_. For one thing, a new deck would help to reflect how Miyuki had changed between stories. More importantly though, I felt like her old deck just couldn't support The Tripper Mercury.

Figuring out Miyuki's new deck ended up being a major challenge. A large part of the problem was the fact that most archetypes that specialize in swarming the field with monsters to use for a large number of tributes also specialized in Synchro, Xyz and Pendulum Summoning. Then about a month or so ago, while I was doing research into Monarch decks for another character in this story, I found out about a variety of Monarch deck that specialized in summoning Obelisk the Tormentor. I realized then that I could use the same principle for Miyuki's deck, only I made her deck a Frost Monarch deck to fit more with Miyuki's personality and also match up with Mercury's type and attribute. To that end, I made up the Vassal Duplication card (based on Machine Duplication) for Miyuki to use in order to make it a lot easier for Miyuki to bring Mercury onto the field. I'll probably end up creating other similar cards for Miyuki to use if she duels again in this or one other story I may do in the future. It's a shame that the six original Monarchs like Mobius and Caius don't have more of their own specific support.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	8. Miator Reunions, Part 2

**Author's Note:** I'm afraid this chapter will be disproportionately shorter compared to the last one. I probably should've wait to show all of Shizuma and Miyuki's duel in this chapter so both parts of this story would be about the same length, but leaving it off where Mercury destroyed both of Shizuma's monsters was just too good of a cliffhanger to pass up.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX or Strawberry Panic.

* * *

Chapter 7: Miator Reunions, Part 2

"I don't get it! How could Mercury have been able to destroy both of Shizuma's monsters like that?" Nagisa asked. "It only has 2000 ATK!"

"It must have some very powerful effect to make up for its relatively low stats," Chikaru assumed.

"I can see you're confused by how Mercury was able to destroy both your monsters in a single stroke," Miyuki observed. "So allow me to explain. First of all, Mercury is able to make two attacks on each turn. And when Mercury has been summoned by sacrificing three monsters, my opponent's monsters lose ATK points equal to their original ATK values while she's on the field."

"In other words, Mercury's effect dropped Terra Frima and Inferno's ATK to zero," Alexis realized.

"There's one thing I don't understand though. If both of Shizuma's monsters had zero ATK when Mercury attacked them, her life points should've dropped to zero," Tabitha pointed out. "So how could Shizuma still have 1000 life points left?"

"Because Inferno's effect protected her," Jaden explained. "Inferno gains 1000 ATK every time he battles a Water monster. And since Mercury is a Water monster, he had at least 1000 ATK when Mercury attacked him."

"It seems that you were taking me lightly before, Shziuma," Miyuki observed. "But you aren't taking me lightly now, are you?"

"Where… where did you even get that card?" Shizuma asked.

"I obtained it after I suffered a major loss that made me rethink a lot of things about my life," Miyuki answered. "It happened months ago when I took part in a professional tournament in Domino City. The winner was to earn the privilege of dueling one of the world's most legendary duelists. I managed to win the honor of having that duel, but that was where everything went wrong…"

* * *

 _Months before in the duel stadium of Domino City, Miyuki was dueling a man with brown hair and piercing blue eyes wearing a white suit with a blue tie. Miyuki's side of the field was completely empty. Meanwhile on the other side of the field, Miyuki's opponent had a large white dragon with a pair of massive wings and three heads. The eyes on all three of its heads were a dazzling shade of blue. It was the most beautiful and at the same time most terrifying monster that Miyuki had ever seen._

 _"Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, finish this duel now!" Miyuki's opponent commanded. "Neutron Blast!"_

 _The dragon reared back all three of its heads, and from all three it breathed out a destructive blast of white electrical energy. Miyuki was totally frozen in terror as the blast came towards her. In seconds the attack hit her like a wave and dropped her life points to zero. As the duel ended and the dragon vanished from the field, Miyuki dropped to her knees._

 _"And the winner of the duel is… Seto Kaiba!" the MC of the duel announced._

 _The crowd cheered as Kaiba walked over to a completely defeated Miyuki. He looked down on her with his cold blue eyes._

 _"How pathetic," Kaiba spoke with an arrogant sneer. "You're not the first duelist who graduated from Miator I've run across. There are a few who I consider decent duelists, but like you, many of them are just caged birds. Those who simply bow to the expectations of others can never defeat someone like me who has carved his destiny with his own hands."_

 _With that, Kaiba walked off the stage. At least a minute or two after Kaiba left, Miyuki finally managed to get back up and got off the stage. During what seemed like a very long walk towards the exit, Miyuki found herself suddenly rethinking her life. The defeat she had just suffered at Kaiba's hands had totally shattered her confidence as a duelist._

 _"Sorry for your loss," a familiar voice spoke as Miyuki reached the exit. She looked to her left and saw Maximillion Pegasus standing before her. "If it's any consolation, I thought you performed quite well."_

 _"Mr. Pegasus… what're you doing here?" Miyuki asked._

 _"When I heard you were taking part in this tournament, I became intrigued," Pegasus explained. "Truth be told, I was afraid of what happened if you managed to win your way to the top. Kaiba-boy can be quite harsh with his opponents."_

 _"I was a fool to ever think I could defeat someone like him," Miyuki declared. "He's on a level that I can't possibly reach. I suppose… Mr. Kaiba is right about duelists like me who graduated from Miator. We really are all caged birds who can do nothing more than what others expect of us. That's how I've lived my life."_

 _"Now, now. There's simply no need for that sort of self-pity," Pegasus told her. "I'll have you know that there's one Miator duelist who managed to defeat Kaiba-boy and teach him a much needed lesson."_

 _"And just who would that be?" Miyuki asked, though she didn't believe what Pegasus was saying._

 _"It was your dear old friend, Shizuma," Pegasus answered. "I saw her crush him with my own eye."_

 _"Shizuma?" Miyuki asked as the ghost of a smile came to her face. "That doesn't at all surprise me."_

 _"Of course Shizuma had a special something that allowed her to beat Kaiba-boy," Pegasus revealed. "Perhaps if you were able to find that same sort of special something, you could obtain the kind of strength that she has."_

 _"But what is this special thing that Shizuma has?" Miyuki asked._

 _"Oh… I think you can figure it out, with a little time," Pegasus answered with a playful smirk. "For right now though, I'd like to give you something that will help you on your quest to find new strength."_

 _With that, Pegasus reached into his coat and pulled out a card, which he handed to Miyuki. Miyuki took the card and was surprised to find it was The Tripper Mercury._

 _"Mr. Pegasus! Isn't this card…?" Miyuki began to ask._

 _"One of the Legendary Planets created by Erich Muller," Pegasus confirmed. "It's from the same group as Shizuma's Elemental Hero Terra Firma. I've been holding onto it for years, waiting to find just the right duelist to wield it. And I'm confident that you and Mercury are a perfect match."_

 _"If you don't mind me asking, Mr. Pegasus… why are you being so kind to me?" Miyuki asked._

 _"I've been a little bit concerned about you ever since I found out that you had gotten pulled into Yako's misguided plans with the Wicked God cards," Pegasus explained. "I wanted to make sure that you hadn't been permanently scarred by the way things ended. Well, I should be off. I wish you luck in your journey, Miyuki."_

* * *

"…Five days after that, I returned to Miator to try and find the strength I was looking for," Miyuki continued. "When I arrived, I began taking care of Tamao and helped her try to recover from the accident she had suffered during the Astraea Star Cup. During that time, I began to really rethink my life. I realized that my whole life up to that point had been spent trying to live up to everyone's expectations of me. I never did anything for myself.

"That's where you and I differed though, Shizuma. Unlike me, you always lived for yourself, for your own dreams. You always had a confidence and strength that I lacked. That's one of the things I always admired about you Shizuma. And… it's probably the reason why I fell in love with you."

Shizuma blinked in surprise. "Miyuki… you actually…?"

"You were my first love, Shizuma," Miyuki admitted. "I always wanted to tell you that, but I lacked the courage to do so. And I felt that a relationship with you could never be because of what my family expected of me. So I kept silent about my feelings… until now."

"Well… you're a little too late to tell me that," Shizuma responded. "I'm with Nagisa now, and the two of us are very happy together."

"I realize that," Miyuki told her. "But I wanted you to know that so you would understand why I helped Yako Tenma. Your happiness was always what was most important to me. It always hurt me to see how miserable you were after Kaori's death. And so when Tenma offered me this chance to make you happy again, I took it, even though it seemed completely insane. That's how desperate I was to bring you back to your old self."

"I had no idea that Miyuki ever felt that way about Shizuma," Nagisa spoke.

"Shizuma probably didn't either," Alexis told her.

"Now that I've said what I needed to tell you, we can move on," Miyuki continued. "I set one card on the field and end my turn! It's your move Shizuma, but with the way this last turn has gone, it's clear that you can't do anything to turn this around. It seems that I truly have surpassed you."

After a moment, Shizuma began to chuckle. "You know Miyuki… you've just reminded me of how you sometimes had to bring me to my senses whenever I got too cocky."

"You did have a tendency to get overconfident sometimes, especially when we were younger," Miyuki recalled.

"And you did a good job of keeping me grounded," Shizuma added. "But I should tell you that you've gotten just as overconfident as I would get."

"If you're talking about this duel, I'm afraid you're mistaken," Miyuki told her. "Now that Mercury is on the field, your only reasonable option is to surrender."

"We'll just see about that!" Shizuma declared as she drew her next card. "Since he's the only card in my hand right now, I special summon Elemental Hero Bubbleman!"

Appearing on Shizuma's side of the field was a muscular warrior clad in a blue bodysuit with thick light-blue armor covering his upper torso and shoulders. He had on light-blue boots and gloves, and on his head was a blue helmet with a mask that covered the upper half of his face and a pair of blades like horns. On his back he had a white cape and a pair of large grey water tanks. Mounted on the back of his right wrist was a fairly large water cannon with two thick grey hoses that connected to the armor on his shoulder.

"When Bubbleman has been summoned while I have no other cards on the field or in my hand, I can draw two more cards!" Shizuma announced before pulling another pair of cards from her deck. "Next I summon Vision Hero Vyon in Attack Mode!"

Materializing next to Bubbleman was another warrior clad in a black and purple bodysuit. His head was totally covered by a black helmet with a pointed crest at the back and a mask with a single large red eye. He had black armor with small red lights covering his shoulders and forearms, as well as his legs.

"When Vyon has been summoned to the field, I can send a Hero monster from my deck to the Graveyard!" Shizuma announced. "I use this effect to send Vision Hero Witch Raider to the Graveyard! Now I activate Vyon's second effect and banish Witch Raider to add a copy of Polymerization to my hand! And now I activate Polymerization and fuse Vyon together with Bubbleman to summon Elemental Hero Absolute Zero!"

Vyon and Bubbleman both flew up into a transparent vortex that had appeared in the sky above. A few moments later, Absolute Zero dropped down out of the vortex onto the field.

"I'm impressed that you were able to summon Absolute Zero at this stage," Miyuki remarked. "But he'll do you no good. Absolute Zero may gain 500 ATK for each Water monster like Mercury on the field, but because of Mercury's effect, 500 ATK is all he has."

"Absolute Zero isn't going to be here for long!" Shizuma told her. "I'm going to borrow one of Nagisa's moves and activate Mask Change! With this card, I use Absolute Zero to summon Masked Hero Acid!"

Absolute Zero suddenly clutched his face and flipped back through the air. As he did so, the hero's body glowed with a blue light and blast of snow and ice radiated across the battlefield and struck Mercury. The icy mist faded away and Mercury was totally frozen in ice. In seconds the ice began to crack and Mercury shattered to pieces. Meanwhile, a new hero had appeared in Absolute Zero's place.

The warrior was totally clad in blue armor, and covering his head was a mask with red eyes and a silver asterisk-shaped crest on the face. The armor covering his chest was red, and on it was a large golden crest that resembled a six-pointed starfish. A large piece of blue armor with gold trim covered his left shoulder, while the top of the armor on his right shoulder was colored black. Around his waist was a gold belt with a large silver asterisk-shaped buckle and some sort of attachment clipped to the left hip. In his right hand, the warrior carried a futuristic purple and silver pistol.

"As you know, when Absolute Zero leaves the field, all of my opponent's monsters are destroyed," Shizuma announced.

"I still have a card face-down on the field," Miyuki pointed out.

"Not for long!" Shizuma told her. "When Masked Hero Acid has been summoned to the field, all of my opponent's Spell and Trap cards are destroyed! Acid Rain!"

Acid aimed his pistol into the air and fired a single shot of blue light into the sky. When it got high enough, the energy projectile exploded and several blue lights rained down onto the field. One of the lights struck Miyuki's facedown card and quickly burned away to nothing.

"This effect also drops the ATK of my opponent's monsters by 300 points," Shizuma continued. "But since you have no monsters left, that part of the effect doesn't matter."

"I see… it looks like you were able to best me after all," Miyuki observed.

"Acid! Attack Miyuki directly!" Shizuma commanded. "Acid Bullet!"

Acid took the attachment clipped to the left side of his belt and connected it to the front of his pistol, revealing it to be a larger barrel for the gun. The hero aimed his weapon at Miyuki and opened fire. A massive ball of blue light shot from the barrel of the gun and struck Miyuki in the chest, dropping her life points to zero. With the duel at an end, Acid vanished from the field.

Miyuki walked up to Shizuma. "It seems that I wasn't able to surpass you after all."

"You did give me a pretty good challenge," Shizuma admitted.

"Miyuki," Tamao spoke as she came up to her.

Miyuki turned to her and smiled. "I'm okay Tamao. I may have lost that duel, but I what matters is I was finally able to tell Shizuma my feelings."

Tamao looked Shizuma right in the eye. "Ms. Shizuma, can't you forgive Miyuki for what she's done? Even if it was wrong, she said herself that the only reason why she helped that man Tenma was because she loved you!"

"It's alright Tamao," Miyuki told her as she put a hand on her shoulder. "Shizuma's made her feelings clear to me."

"Hold on," Shizuma spoke with a heavy sigh. "Miyuki… it's hard for me to get past what you did, but this duel reminded me of how good a friend you've always been to me. So because of that, I think I can give you a second chance."

"I'm glad you feel that way," Miyuki replied.

"Well, I don't know about anyone else, but this duel has worn me out," Shizuma declared. "Nagisa, let's head back to the villa."

"Sounds good to me," Nagisa agreed.

"Nagisa, wait!" Tamao spoke as she stepped forward. "I have… a confession to make to you. I actually don't have amnesia anymore. I remember everything from the time you first came to Miator."

"What!" a stunned Nagisa exclaimed. "But… but then why did you act like you didn't remember me?"

"I thought it might be easier for you this way," Tamao answered.

"Hold it! Miyuki, you told me that Tamao still had amnesia," Jaden protested.

"I apologize for that, Mr. Yuki," Miyuki told him. "But in order for Nagisa to believe that Tamao didn't remember her, everyone had to believe it. I was only doing what Tamao wanted me to do."

"Miyuki, I can't believe you!" Shizuma exclaimed.

"Please! Let me explain!" Tamao interrupted. "I thought that Nagisa might be uneasy around me because of how I used to feel about her; that I might still have feelings for her. So I decided to fake that I still had amnesia so that the two of us could start off with a clean slate. But I could see how much that lie was bothering Nagisa."

"You bet it bothered me!" Nagisa told her. "Tamao, even after what happened, I still thought of you as a good friend. It really hurt when I thought you didn't remember me."

"I'm sorry Nagisa. I just didn't want you to be afraid that I still harbored a crush on you," Tamao told her. "You should know that you don't have to worry about that. I've moved on. Miyuki and I both have."

"And just what is that supposed to mean?" Shizuma asked.

"Perhaps this will explain what she's talking about," Miyuki answered as she pulled Tamao close.

In seconds Tamao and Miyuki had become locked in a very passionate kiss. The sight of their public display of affection caused Nagisa's eyes to widen.

"Oh dang!" Shelia spoke with a smirk.

"I had a feeling this was what was going to happen when we last left those two," Yubel told Jaden.

"I sure didn't see it coming," Jaden quietly responded.

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me," Alexis whispered.

Shizuma blinked in surprise as Miyuki and Shizuma finally broke for air. "Okay. Was not expecting that."

"Tamao and I fell in love with each other during the course of her recovery," Miyuki explained. "It turned out that she was the source of strength that I had come back to the island to find, just as Nagisa seemed to be the source of the strength you used to defeat Seto Kaiba."

"So anyway Nagisa, I do hope that you and I can continue being friends," Tamao told her.

"Uh… yeah. I'd… I'd like that," Nagisa responded.

Shizuma groaned and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Okay, now I'm really tired. Let's go Nagisa."

"Right behind you," Nagisa replied, and with that the two of them left.

"I'm not sure Nagisa is really okay," Tamao spoke with a look of concern.

"Don't worry. Both she and Shizuma just need a little time to process what they just saw," Chikaru told her. "You did kind of drop a bomb on everyone just now."

"Oh man! This has been one stressful day," Jaden declared.

Chikaru clapped her hands together. "Alright then! I think we should all do something to unwind. How about we all head over to Lilum and I'll brew some tea for everyone?"

"I could go for that," Alexis answered.

"Sure," Jaden agreed with a shrug.

"I'm game if Tabitha is," Sheila responded.

"Okay then," Chikaru replied. "Let's get going!"

* * *

Shizuma and Nagisa were walking hand in hand as they headed back towards the villa. Both of them were still reeling from the revelation of Miyuki and Tamao's relationship.

"You know… Tamao and Miyuki do seem like a good match," Nagisa remarked. "I'm happy for them."

"I will say one thing. Miyuki really has loosened up," Shizuma declared. "She's almost like a whole new person."

As the two of them continued on their path to the villa, they suddenly noticed Akane coming towards them. The dark-haired girl was mumbling to herself and seemed to be in some sort of trance. Akane kept heading towards them and eventually bumped into Shizuma's arm.

"Hey!" Shizuma protested.

Akane finally seemed to snap out of her trance. "Oh! Sorry. I… I guess I didn't see you there."

"You okay?" Shizuma asked.

"Yeah, I… I'm just feeling a little out of it, I guess," Akane replied. "I don't even remember why I came out here."

"Maybe you should have a doctor check you over," Shizuma suggested. "Miator's not that far. You could go to the infirmary there."

"I'm fine, really. I think I just need to get some sleep or something," Akane assumed. "Anyway, sorry for bumping into you."

With that, Akane went on her way. Nagisa and Shizuma kept their eyes on her as she left.

"Who was that anyway?" Nagisa asked.

"No idea," Shizuma answered. "Just a flaky Spica student, I guess."

"You know… something about her kind of reminded me of you," Nagisa remarked.

"Seriously?" Shizuma asked with a raised eyebrow. "In what way are she and I alike?"

"I don't know exactly," Nagisa answered. She then noticed a feint golden light coming from Shizuma's duel disk. "Uh, Shizuma? This is gonna sound crazy, but I think one of the cards in your deck is glowing."

Shizuma looked, and one of the cards in her deck was indeed the source of the light. She pulled out the card in question and found that the light was coming from Terra Firma. The card was glowing with a golden aura that seemed to be quickly fading. In a matter of seconds it had gone completely.

"Were we seeing things just now?" Nagisa asked.

"I have no idea," Shizuma answered. "Let's just get back to the villa. I think we could both use a nap."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** The flashback of Miyuki getting The Tripper Mercury from Pegasus is an extended version of the flashback from the epilogue of _Dark Queen of Miator_. I had to tweak it a little bit, but it was handy to have an already existing version of the scene to work from.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	9. Blossomed Hikari

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX or Strawberry Panic.

* * *

Chapter 8: Blossomed Hikari

 _The light called to her. It pulled her like a magnet as she saw its beam sweep across the ocean. Only the sound of the waves could be heard as she walked along the shore under a night sky lit by a moon that had been cracked in half. All around her the beach was littered with skeletons wearing Spica, Miator and Lilum uniforms, and the sight of them caused a small smile to form on her face. She smiled because something told her that those skeletons were merely remnants of the old world, and that soon a new and glorious world would begin._

 _Eventually she reached the source of that beckoning light, the abandoned lighthouse on the island that once held such fond memories for her. The walls of the lighthouse were now covered in thorny black vines with multicolored flowers growing on them that were strange yet at the same time very beautiful. Standing in front of the door to the lighthouse was a ghostly humanoid entity that appeared to be a woman. Her body was pitch black except for what appeared to be stars, and most of her features were outline by glowing white lines. She had no face except for a pair of bright glowing white lights that seemed to serve as eyes._

 _As she came near, the ghost woman held out her hand to her. "Come child. It is time for the age of the Light to begin."_

 _She reached for the ghost girl's hand, but hesitated. There was a part of her that realized that everything around her was wrong; a part of her that wanted to run away and find some part of the world that was still sane and alive, but that part of her couldn't overcome the desire to see this new world that the ghost girl was talking about. After all, it was a world that she herself would be creating. After a few more moments of hesitation, she began to reach for the ghost girl's hand._

Akane's eyes snapped open and she found the ceiling of her room above her. She let out a soft groan as she slowly sat up on her bed and touched her forehead. Akane was starting to wonder if she was starting to come down with something. Lately she had been having long instances where she would have trouble focusing, like she was walking around in a fog. There were even a couple of times where she'd come out of one of those foggy spells and have practically no memory of what she had been doing for the past several minutes, almost like she had been sleepwalking.

If that wasn't bad enough, now she was starting to have very strange and vivid dreams and wake up in the morning with a headache. Akane tried to figure out just what her strange illness – if it was an illness – might be, and she recalled that it all seemed to begin right after she had found that strange card, The Invader X. She reached over to her nightstand and pulled the card in question from her deck to take a closer look at it. What was really strange to Akane is that she couldn't quite remember how she had gotten it in the first place. She recalled finding it in the old lighthouse, but that was about it.

Plus there was the fact that the card itself was incredibly strange. For one thing, one of its Fusion Materials required to summon it was supposed to be something called a "New World Genus" monster, and Akane had never heard of such an archetype before. She didn't know where to look for such a card, and as far as she could remember, there were no other cards in the lighthouse as far as she could remember. Then again, her memory on that subject couldn't exactly be trusted. For all she knew, there could be twenty cards of that strange archetype still there in the lighthouse gathering dust.

Regardless, Akane felt that it might be better for her to simply get rid of the card. Just as she was about to toss it to the wastebasket though, something inside her stopped her. She took another look at the card, and suddenly she remembered how that card was the key to making all those around her feel the pain and loneliness she had been feeling every single day since she had lost Mahiro. It would be foolish to just simply throw that power away, and something told her that the keys to summoning The Invader X would reveal themselves in time. As she thought of this, Mahiro's eyes began to glow and an insane grin formed on her face.

* * *

It was midmorning as Jaden entered Spica Academy's large gymnasium. The place was filled with students putting up various decorations. A few of them were busy hanging a large banner with the words, "Founders Ball" written in large blue letters. As Jaden looked around, he spotted Hikari talking over something with Shion and went over to them. With the two was another Spica student with long black hair and reddish eyes. This young woman was one of Hikari's closest friends, Yaya Nanto.

"Hey Hikari!" Jaden called as he came over to the trio.

"Oh! Hello Jaden," Hikari responded. "What brings you here?"

"I was actually looking for Amane," Jaden explained. "I was hoping that she'd be willing to duel me."

"Well she's out riding right now, but she should be back here in a few minutes," Hikari told him. "You're welcome to wait for her."

"Thanks," Jaden replied. "So what's going on in here anyway? It looks like you're getting the place ready for a party."

"That's exactly what's going on," Shion confirmed. "In two days is one of the biggest events of the Founders Festival, the Founders Ball. Spica of course will be hosting it, since the current Etoile is from here."

"And one of my duties as Etoile is to oversee the preparations for the ball," Hikari added with a sigh. "It's turning out to be a harder job than I thought. Quite honestly, I'm not sure if I can pull it off."

"Oh c'mon Hikari, you're doing great," Yaya assured her as she gave her a pat on the shoulder. "I mean look how well the place looks."

"Yeah, but there's more to it than just decorating the gym," Hikari pointed out. "There's the catering, and deciding on the music list, and at least a hundred other things! I think I'm in way over my head."

"Isn't Amane helping you with all this?" Jaden asked.

"Amane's… actually not good at this sort of thing," Hikari revealed. "She was helping at first, but she kept making all these mistakes like having the wrong floral arrangements brought in."

"At one point Hikari actually yelled at Amane," Yaya remarked. "I never imagined something like that would happen."

"After that, Amane and I decided that it would be better if I handled the whole thing myself," Hikari continued. "Well, actually Yaya and Shion have been helping a lot. I don't think could've gotten any of this done without them."

"Hey. You know you can always count on me to back you up, Hikari," Yaya told her.

"And as student council president, I'd never live it down if any event hosted by Spica Academy was less than perfect," Shion added. "It's my duty to see that the Founders Ball goes off exactly as planned."

At that moment, a young Spica student with light-brown hair tied in pigtails came running up to the four. "Excuse me, Ms. Hikari? The baking club sent me to get you. The club president has some sort of problem with the cake you asked them to make for the ball. Something about the design."

"Again? I thought we reached a final decision on that this morning!" Hikari responded.

"Apparently the club president thinks it can't work," the brown-haired girl told them. "I don't know what her hang-up is, but she wants you to come and help sort it out."

"Oh dang it!" Hikari complained as she handed the clipboard she was holding to Yaya. "Yaya, take care of things here! I'll be right back!"

With that, Hikari began to rush across the gym. As she got to the door, she ran into someone and caused him to spill the cup of coffee he was holding onto the front of his shirt. That someone turned out to be David Rabb.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" Hikari told him. "I didn't see you there."

"You dumb little bitch!" David cursed. "You're gonna pay for that! This was my best uniform shirt, dammit!"

"I-I said I was sorry," Hikari responded.

"Wait a sec… you're half of that Etoile duo that everyone around her says is hot stuff," David realized. "So you think that just because you're queen bee around here means that you can treat everyone around you like dirt, is that it? Well I've got news for you! Nobody crosses David Rabb and gets away with it! I'm gonna make you pay for ruining my shirt!"

"I said I was sorry," Hikari told him.

"Back off, Rabb!" Jaden cut in as he and Yaya stepped forward.

"Oh. Jaden Yuki. Interesting surprise to see you here," David responded as his lips curved into a smirk. "Let me guess, this little airhead's a friend of yours."

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Yaya shot back. "Now what happened was an accident, so just lay off!"

David chuckled. "Okay… I'm willing to let this go… that is if your little princess here can beat me in a duel! Otherwise I'm going to make her pay by licking the front of my shirt clean with everyone here watching!"

"Why you…" a furious Yaya responded.

"That's way out of line, Rabb!" Jaden told him. "If you wanna duel someone to settle this, then duel me!"

"Wait Jaden!" Hikari told him as she raised a hand in front of him. "Since I was the one who was challenged to a duel, as Etoile I have no choice but to accept."

"That's a good girl," David responded with a wicked grin. "Now let's get this show on the road. Oh, and Jaden? I'd be glad to duel you after your little friend finishes cleaning my shirt. After all, you and I still have a score to settle."

"Rabb's clearly still the same as ever," Yubel remarked as she appeared next to Jaden. "Guess being under Electra's influence never affected his personality that much."

In moments, Hikari and David moved to the center of them gym and activated their duel disks. All of the students who had been preparing the place for the ball immediately stopped what they were doing in order to watch and see if their beloved Etoile would come out of the duel okay.

"I'll start this off," David declared as he drew his first card. "I set one monster on the field and end my turn!"

Hikari drew her first card. "I summon Hysteric Fairy in Attack Mode!"

Materializing on Hikari's side of the battlefield was a young-looking woman with short straight dark-blue hair and pointed ears. She had a golden halo above her head and a pair of large white-feathered wings on her back. On her face she wore a pair of glasses with red flames, and her outfit consisted of a blue suit with a short skirt, red tie, and black socks with polished shoes. In her left hand she carried a black book with a blue ankh decorating the cover.

"Hysteric Fairy! Attack his face-down monster!" Hikari commanded. "Light of the Just!"

Hysteric Fairy extended her right arm and fired a beam of white light from the palm of her hand. The blast struck David's monster, creating a blast of fire and smoke. Suddenly flying out of the cloud of smoke was a metallic red sphere with five blade-like arms around its midsection and a grey dial on its back. The sphere struck Hysteric Fairy and its bladed arms clamped around her torso. Hysteric Fairy went totally pale with terror as soon as the device clamped onto her, as though she knew exactly what it was.

David chuckled. "That monster you attacked was a Blast Sphere. As you may know, when Blast Sphere is attacked while facedown on the field, it equips itself onto the monster that attacked. Then at the beginning of the opponent's next turn, Blast Sphere detonates, blowing up the monster it's equipped to and dealing the destroyed monster's ATK as damage. Not off to a good start, are you princess?"

"I set three cards on the field and end my turn!" Hikari announced.

"This guy really is scum," Yaya remarked.

"I'm familiar with David Rabb's record," Shion responded. "He's supposed to be a pretty formidable pro duelist. Hikari has her work cut out for her."

David drew his next card. "I summon BM-4 Blast Spider in Attack Mode!"

Appearing on David's side of the field was a large but slender green and black mechanical spider. It had a round orange-brown head resembling a sort of hatch, with a single window-like eye and a pair of curved grey spikes near the bottom like a pair of fangs. Each of its long legs ended with a single black wheel, and on each knee was a pair of large grey spikes. On the back of the robotic arachnid was a pair of very large box-like launchers.

"I set a card on the field and end my turn!" David announced.

"Hey! Why'd he summon a monster with 2200 DEF in Attack Mode?" Yaya wondered.

"Because he's obviously set up some kind of trap," Jaden answered. "Rabb wants Hikari to attack him."

"Yo Jaden!" a familiar voice spoke. Jaden turned to see Atticus arriving with Reggie. "We heard there was some kind of big duel going on in the gym and decided to go check it out."

"Your friend Hikari is dueling David?" Reggie observed.

"Yeah. Hikari accidentally made David spill coffee on himself, so he challenged Hikari out of revenge," Jaden explained.

"That bastard wants to make Hikari lick his shirt clean in front if he beats her!" Yaya added.

"That creep," Reggie responded. "This is low even for him."

"How come you're not dueling Rabb instead?" Atticus asked Jaden.

"I tried, but Hikari insisted on handling this herself," Jaden answered.

"Well I hope she's as tough as her reputation says," Reggie replied. "David's become a much more aggressive player since the last time you saw him."

"It's my turn!" Hikari announced as she drew her next card.

"Right. And you know what that means, princess," David responded. "Blast Sphere detonates and takes out your monster along with a chunk of your life points."

On cue, Blast Sphere exploded and vaporized Hysteric Fairy with a blast of flames. Hikari's life points dropped to 2200.

"At this point I activate my Trap, Angel's Tear!" Hikari announced. "When a Fairy monster I control is destroyed by an opponent's card effect, I gain 400 life points times the destroyed monster's level! Since Hysteric Fairy was level four, I gain 1600 life points!"

A ghostly image of Hysteric Fairy suddenly appeared above Hikari. The slain angel closed her eyes and a single glowing blue tear rolled down her cheek. The teardrop struck the screen of Hikari's duel disk, and in seconds Hikari glowed briefly with a golden aura as her life points rose back up to 3800. Soon after, Hysteric Fairy vanished.

"I now activate Pot of Greed to draw two more cards!" Hikari announced. "And at this moment I also activate my final two face-down cards, Solemn Wishes! Solemn Wishes raises my life points by 500 every time I draw from my deck! And since I have two copies of Solemn Wishes on the field, I gain 1000 life points with each draw!"

Hikari pulled two more cards from the top of her deck. As she did so, sparkling gold lights rained down upon her from above and brought her life points up to 4800.

"I summon Heaven's Sentry in Attack Mode!" Hikari announced.

Materializing on Hikari's side of the field was a woman with long flowing red hair and blue eyes. Atop her head was a golden helmet with wings on the side, and floating above her head was a golden halo. On her back was a pair of large white-feathered wings, and she had golden armor with silver trim covering her chest. Gold bracelets covered her wrists, and around her waist was a long flowing skirt made of a glittering silvery fabric. On her left arm was a large diamond-shaped shield, and in her right hand she carried a large golden staff with a pointed white crystal at the top like the head of a spear.

"Heaven's Sentry gains 1000 ATK when my life points are higher than my opponent's which means right now her ATK is at 2600!" Hikari announced. "Heaven's Sentry, attack Blast Spider! Divine Ray!"

"I activate my Trap, Metaverse!" David announced. "This Trap lets me activate a Field Spell directly from my deck! And the card I activate is Heavy Metal Raiders!"

As Heaven's Sentry fired a beam of white light at Blast Spider from the crystal at the end of her staff, the floor of the gym suddenly changed from wood to polished grey metal. In seconds, the walls of the gym had turned black and had thick grey pipes running along them, and on the wall behind David appeared a massive pair of heavy grey metal doors. The ray of light struck Blast Spider in the face, creating an explosion of fire and smoke. David's life points dropped to 2800, but when the smoke cleared, Blast Spider was still on the field.

"What? I don't understand! How is your monster still on the field?" a startled Hikari asked.

"It's all thanks to the power of my Field Spell, Heavy Metal Raiders," David explained. "The first time one of my Dark Machine monsters would be destroyed in battle, Heavy Metal Raiders keeps it from being destroyed. Not only that, the Machine monster that would've been destroyed gains ATK equal to the damage I took from that battle. Which means that right now, my Blast Spider's ATK is at 2600."

"So Rabb deliberately played Blast Spider in Attack Mode so he could boost its ATK with that combo of Metaverse and Heavy Metal Raiders," Shion realized. "I have to admit that's a pretty bold move. He was willing to take a large amount of damage just to boost the ATK of one monster."

"Like I said, David's gotten a lot more aggressive as a duelist," Reggie told them.

"I set one card on the field and end my turn!" Hikari announced.

David drew his next card. "First I activate the Spell card, Trade-In! I discard a level eight monster from my hand to draw two more cards!"

Jaden looked closely as David place the card he was discarding in the Graveyard slot of his duel disk. "Not good. Rabb just discarded The Big Saturn."

"Wait, as in the Legendary Planet, Big Saturn?" a startled Yaya asked.

"That monster is David's ace," Reggie responded. "Now that Saturn's in the Graveyard, he can summon it to the field at just about any time."

"Next I play the Continuous Spell card, Droid Factory!" David announced. "Once per turn, Droid Factory lets me discard a Machine from my hand to summon a Droid Token to the field in Attack Mode!"

Appearing next to Blast Spider was a black and silver humanoid robot. Its face was a large spherical red light on the front of a triangular silver mask. A similar red light was on the front of its black torso.

"Now I activate Blast Spider's effect!" David announced. "Once per turn, Blast Spider lets me destroy one of my own Dark Machine monsters along with a monster my opponent controls! I use this effect to destroy both my Droid Token and Heaven's Sentry!"

The launchers on Blast Spider's back opened up, revealing silos loaded with Blast Spheres. One Blast Sphere flew out of a silo in the right launcher and collided into the Droid Token, blowing it to pieces. At the same time, another Blast Sphere flew out of one of the silos in the left launcher and attached itself to Heaven's Sentry. In less than a second, the sphere exploded and incinerated the angel.

"When Heaven's Sentry has been destroyed, her effect lets me add a level four or lower Fairy monster to my hand!" Hikari announced. "I use this effect to take Nova Summoner from my deck!"

"Fine, but now Blast Spider's other effect kicks in!" David announced. "When an opponent's monster is destroyed by one of my Dark Machines, either because of battle or that Machine's effect, my opponent takes half of the destroyed monster's original ATK as damage!"

Another Blast Sphere flew out of a silo in Blast Spider's left launcher towards Hikari. The blonde duelist raised her arms to protect herself, but the sphere still hit its target and knocked Hikari's life points down to 4000.

"That's not all!" David continued. "Because I just destroyed one of your monsters with the effect of one of my Dark Machines, the effect of Heavy Metal Raiders lets me summon another Dark Machine from my hand! I summon Devastator Zero!"

The massive doors that had formed behind David the moment he played his Field Spell suddenly opened up, and a wave of some sort of white mist or steam washed over the floor of the battlefield. Suddenly a series out loud thumping noises like footsteps could be heard from the tunnel on the other side of the doors. Lumbering out of the tunnel in a matter of seconds was red humanoid robot that stood at a towering twelve feet. It had a mask-like face with two slots for eyes and a vent like the fender of an old car where its nose and mouth would normally be. Each of its arms ended with a set of four curved grey blade-like claws.

"When Devastator Zero has been special summoned from the hand, he inflicts 800 points of damage for each face-up Spell and Trap card on my opponent's field!" David announced. "Those two copies of Solemn Wishes you have out just became a liability, princess!"

A pair of small Gatling guns rose out of Devastator Zero's shoulders and opened fire on Hikari. Hikari raised her arms to try and shield herself from the hail of bullets, but the attack still lowered her life points to 2400.

"This is like shooting fish in a barrel," David declared with an evil grin. "I know all about your reputation as an elite duelist of this academy, princess. And the fact is that it means nothing. You may be pretty tough in a tag duel, but without that lady prince of yours to back you up, you're powerless!"

Hikari glared back at David. "Don't underestimate me, David Rabb! I can handle myself all on my own if I have to."

David chuckled. "All I hear from you is the sound of a little yipping dog trying to act tough. Now then, Devastator Zero gains 500 ATK for each Dark Machine I have on the field! Since I have two Dark Machines out right now, Zero's ATK is at 3600! I use Devastator Zero to attack you directly! Full-Metal Onslaught!"

Devastator Zero's chest opened up to reveal a compartment full of small missile silos. Several black missiles flew from the silos towards Hikari. Many of the Spica students watching the duel closed their eyes to spare themselves the pain of seeing their beloved Etoile lose.

"I activate my Trap, Draining Shield!" Hikari announced as the missiles flew towards her. "This card cancels the damage from Devastator Zero's attack and raises my life points by an amount equal to its ATK!"

A round silver shield appeared over Hikari's duel disk just as the missiles were about to reach their target. The barrage struck and created a massive explosion, but when the smoke cleared moments later, Hikari was still standing and her life points had climbed to 6000. All of the audience members including Jaden breathed a sigh of relief.

David's grin turned to a scowl. "Don't think you're getting off that easy! Blast Spider! Attack the princess directly! Blast Sphere Bombardment!"

The robotic arachnid fired every single Blast Sphere loaded into its launchers across the field at Hikari. The spheres hit, and once again there was a massive explosion of smoke and flames. When the smoke cleared, Hikari's life points had dropped to 3400.

"Looks like you managed to buy yourself at least one more turn," David observed. "Oh well. It'll at least be amusing to watch you struggle for a little longer. I'll end my turn here."

Hikari drew her next card. As she did, sparkling gold lights rained down on her from above and brought her life points up to 4400.

"One thing's for sure. Hikari seems way more confident than she was the first time I met her," Jaden remarked.

"She's really blossomed ever since she and Amane got together," Yaya responded. "In fact if she and Amane had never gotten together, I'm sure Hikari would've totally gone to pieces by now facing someone like Rabb."

"I play the Continuous Spell card, Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen!" Hikari announced.

Suddenly appearing behind Hikari was a large chamber of white stone that was supported by four Roman pillars with flowering vines wrapped around them. Red curtains were draped over the walls of the room, and there was a large rectangular hole on the room's roof to let in the sky. On a set of steps between two robed statues holding spears was an ornate white throne.

"Once per turn, when I have no monsters on the field, the effect of Valhalla lets me special summon a Fairy monster from my hand!" Hikari announced. "I special summon Alexander, Seraph of Justice!"

A light began to shine down through the skylight in Valhalla's roof, and descending through the opening was a muscular man with long red hair that grew half way down his back. A gold halo was above his head, and on his back were ten white-feathered wings. A gold mask totally covered his face, and he had golden armor with silver trim covering his chest and shoulders, with the symbol of a silver sun decorating the armor on his chest. He had white baggy pants with gold boots covering his legs, and hanging from the front of his black belt was a red breechcloth with gold writing decorating the front. Gold bracelets adorned his wrists, and hanging from his waist was a large sword with a gold handle inside a black scabbard.

"When Alexander has been special summoned, his effect destroys all Dark monsters on the field with an original ATK less than or equal to his own!" Hikari announced. "Since Devastator Zero only had 2600 ATK to begin with, both it and Blast Spider are finished!"

Alexander drew his sword, revealing that the blade was made of flames. With one swing of his muscular arms, the angel sent a massive wave of fire across the battlefield, striking both of David's monsters. Upon being hit, both machines exploded into pieces of debris that rained down on the field.

"After destroying all Dark monsters on the field, Alexander's effect lets me add a certain Field Spell to my hand!" Hikari announced. "And I'm going to play that Field Spell right now! I activate The Sanctuary in the Sky!"

In an instant, the mechanized gymnasium was transformed into the ruins of an ancient Roman city that floated high in the clouds. The exact location of the battlefield was now in the middle of a temple surrounded by pillars.

"Alexander can't attack during the turn he uses his effect, so I end my turn here," Hikari announced.

After a moment, David suddenly burst out laughing. "That's it? That's the best you can do? That was a pretty good show you put on princess, but you just proved that you're all flash and no substance!"

"Just make your move," Hikari told them.

"Oh I will," David responded as he drew his next card. "I'm about to show you just how powerful I really am! I activate Monster Reborn and use its effect to summon The Big Saturn!"

A massive pillar of white light shot up from the ground behind David. In moments the light faded, and hovering behind David was a massive silver and black robot with a spherical torso and a small black head with a silver mask-like face. In the center of the machine's torso was a red circular opening. Instead of legs, the robot had a pair of large rocket boosters that it used to hover in the air. It's arms were a pair of black and silver capsules that hovered at its sides, detached from the rest of its body. On the robot's back was a dual engine jet back, and around its torso was a large ring of white energy.

"So that's The Big Saturn, huh?" Yaya observed. "That thing looks pretty tough."

"True, but both Saturn and Hikari's monster have 2800 ATK," Shion pointed out.

"Not for long," Jaden told them.

"I activate Saturn's effect!" David announced. "I discard one card and pay 1000 life points to raise Saturn's ATK by 1000 until the end of the turn!"

David's life points dropped to 1800. At the same time, the energy ring around Saturn's body vanished and its torso widened, allowing the red opening in the center of its chest to become like a cannon. The machine's rocket booster legs rotated up to become an additional set of cannons, and the engines of its jetpack rotated up to become a pair of shoulder-mounted missile launchers. Saturn's ATK rose to 3800.

"Saturn! Blow that angel to bits!" David commanded. "End of Cosmos!"

Saturn fired all the missiles loaded into its body and its flying arms launched themselves at Hikari's angel. At the same time all three of the robots cannons blasted Wild Wingman with intense beams of energy. The attack created a massive explosion that washed out the entire battlefield. When the smoke cleared, Alexander was gone, but Hikari's life points were untouched.

"Thanks to Sanctuary in the Sky, I take no damage from battles involving Fairy monsters," Hikari announced.

"No big deal," David responded. "I still have this duel in the bag. I'll end my turn here. And since my turn's over, Saturn's ATK goes back to normal."

With that, Saturn's body changed back to its original form and its ATK returned to 2800. Soon after, Hikari drew her next card. As she did so, more sparkling gold lights rained down on her from above and raised her life points to 5400.

"Since I have no monsters on the field, I use the effect of Valhalla to summon The Agent of Judgment – Saturn!" Hikari announced.

A ray of light shined down through the skylight of Hikari's throne room, and descending through the opening was a woman with purple skin and a pair of large purple-feathered wings on her back. She had on white and blue robes, with gold feathers draped over her shoulders and a red gemstone adorning her chest. Atop her head was a white and blue Egyptian-style headdress with a long golden cloth draped around her head.

"There it is! Hikari's ace!" Yaya happily observed.

"So, decided to summon your own monster based on Saturn to take me on, huh?" an amused David remarked. "Too bad for you that my Saturn has more ATK than yours."

"Except my Saturn has an effect that will end this duel!" Hikari announced. "By sacrificing herself while I have Sanctuary in the Sky on the field while my life points are higher than my opponent's, The Agent of Judgment – Saturn inflicts the difference between our life points as damage! Since my life points are at 5400 while yours are only at 1800, you take 3600 points of damage!"

"What!" a stunned David exclaimed.

Judge Saturn raised her arms from her sides, and suddenly her body gave off a blinding flash of golden light. A ring of purple light radiated from the flash across the field and struck David, knocking him to the ground. Upon being hit, David's life points dropped to zero. The Big Saturn vanished from the field, and the inside of the gym returned to its original form. With the duel finally at an end, the Spica students who had been watching cheered and Hikari let out a heavy sigh.

"You little bitch!" David cursed as he got back to his feet, causing Hikari to let out a startled gasp. "You think I'm going to just let you get away with humiliating me like that?"

"What's going on?" a familiar voice cut in. Everyone looked to see that Amane had entered the room.

"What perfect timing," Shion remarked as she let out a sigh of relief.

Amane walked up to Hikari. "You okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine," Hikari answered.

Amane put an arm around the blonde. "C'mon. Let's get you out of here. Shion, you and Yaya can finish setting up for the ball without Hikari, right?"

"Don't worry about the ball. We've got it all under control," Shion assured her.

"Just a damn minute!" David protested as Amane and Hikari began to walk away.

"Back off, Rabb!" Jaden cut in. His eyes had changed to the orange and teal colors of Yubel's eyes.

David quickly composed himself and adjusted his hat. "Fine. I'll let this slide for now. I know well enough to back down when your eyes get like that. But don't think this is over. Sooner or later I'll settle my score with both you and that princess."

With that, David turned on his heel and left through one of the side doors in the gym. Once he was gone, Jaden let out a heavy sigh and his eyes returned to normal.

"Rabb really does have some major issues," Atticus remarked.

"Yeah," Jaden agreed. "And it looks like I'll have to face him again pretty soon."

* * *

Erica stood before a full-length mirror in the clubroom of the Spica Sewing Club, carefully examining the dress she had made for herself. It was a sky-blue dress with a large skirt that had five layers stacked on top of one another like the petals of a flower. There was a large bow on the back of the waist. Erica's right shoulder was bare, while a wide strap covered her left shoulder. As Erica quickly twirled around a bit to take another look at the back of the dress, Keiko was leaning against the opposite wall of the room with her arms crossed.

"Hmm… I don't know," Erica spoke as she continued to examine her new outfit. "Maybe I should've used that sparkling fabric for the skirt. What do you think Keiko?"

"I think you did a great job putting that dress together. And in such a short time too," Keiko told her. "If anything, all you need are a few accessories. Besides that, I think you look perfect."

"I'm glad you think so," Erica replied as she turned around to face her. "But the big question is will Akane think so?"

"Quit worrying so much," Keiko told her. "Akane is clearly already interested in you, at least from what you told me. You could probably go to the ball in some tattered brown rags and she'd still think you were beautiful."

"Perhaps you're right," Erica responded as she turned back to the mirror. After a moment, a small smile came to her face. "Okay. I guess all that's left is to wait for the night of the ball."

* * *

Hikari held tightly onto Amane as they rode atop her white horse across the grounds. In a few minutes they had arrived at the Spica stables. Behind the stables was a small shack that the two liked to go sometimes in order to be totally alone. After they dismounted, Amane led Hikari by the hand into the shack. It was a small but cozy building, with only a yellow couch with a simple wooden coffee table in front of it, a small double bed, and a stone fireplace. As soon as the two sat down together on the couch, Hikari cuddled up close to Amane.

"That must've been a pretty rough duel," Amane spoke as she put an arm around Hikari. "You sure you're okay?"

"I'm doing a lot better now," Hikari told her. "It really was hard facing someone like that."

"I wish I had been there to face him for you," Amane replied as she gently brushed a lock of Hikari's hair from her face. "If I see that bastard again, I'm gonna kick his ass. The nerve of him saying that he'd make you lick his uniform clean if he beat you."

"Don't worry about that right now," Hikari responded. "All I want you to do right now is just be here with me."

"I think I can manage that," Amane whispered.

After a few seconds, Hikari had dozed off. It was clear to Amane that her girlfriend was totally worn out, not just because of the duel with David, but also because of all the ball preparations. Amane continued to hold Hikari close, and before she knew it, she had dozed off as well.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I hope everyone enjoyed the duel featured in this chapter, especially the ending. I had briefly thought about calling this chapter, "Saturn vs. Saturn", but I feared that that title might give the ending away. Anyway, I thought I'd take a few moments to talk about some of the cards used in that duel. First we'll cover David's cards. Now as some of you reading are probably aware, BM-4 Blast Spider and Heavy Metal Raiders are very real cards from the still recent Ancient Millennium booster set. Both Blast Spire and that Field Spell are actually my favorite cards from the set, and I actually ended up buying a whole box of Ancient Millennium packs to try and get my hands on them... and to get more copies of Blast Sphere (I love that card). It's a real shame that there aren't really too many decks that can make good use of Heavy Metal Raiders and Blast Spider except for maybe Ally of Justice decks and decks based around Desperado Barrel Dragon and/or Cracking Dragon.

I thought that both of those cards would be a perfect fit for David's deck in this story. To really make Blast Spider work though, I decided that he should have the following Spell card in his arsenal.

 **Droid Factory**

Continuous Spell

Once per turn, you can discard 1 Machine-Type monster from your hand; Special Summon 1 "Droid Token" (Machine-Type/DARK/Level 4/ATK 1500/DEF 0) to your side of the field in Attack Position. You cannot Normal Summon during the turn you activate this effect.

The card was actually inspired by the Quantity monsters that David used in the GX manga. In fact I even thought about calling the Tokens produced by this card, Quantity Tokens. Anyway, I also came up with the following monster for him to use with Heavy Metal Raiders.

 **Devastator Zero**

DARK/Machine/Effect/7/ATK 2600/DEF 2000

When this card is Special Summoned (from the hand): Inflict 800 points of damage for each face-up Spell and Trap Card on the opponent's side of the field. This card gains 500 ATK for each DARK Machine-Type monster you control, including itself.

Now let's turn to Hikari's deck. Truth be told, Hikari's deck kind of made this duel a little hard to write. Her deck is basically an old style Agent deck that focused on boosting the user's life points rather than banishing the opponent's monsters. It had been years since I used such a deck, and even with the research I did to reacquaint myself with the cards for it, there were a few times during the outline stage of the duel where I got a little stuck. As a result, I wound up fabricating the following two monsters.

 **Heaven's Sentry**

LIGHT/Fairy/Effect/4/ATK 1600/DEF 1000

When your life points are higher than your opponent's, this card gains 1000 ATK. If this card is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard; you can add 1 Level 4 or lower Fairy-Type monster from your deck to your hand.

 **Alexander, Seraph of Justice**

LIGHT/Fairy/Effect/7/ATK 2800/DEF 2200

If this card is Special Summoned; destroy all face-up DARK monsters on the field who's original ATK is less than or equal to the ATK of this card, then add 1 "The Sanctuary in the Sky" from your deck to your hand. This card cannot attack during the turn it's been Special Summoned.

Honestly not the most original cards I've made up, but they got the job done. I also made up the following Trap card for Hikari to use early on in the duel.

 **Angel's Tear**

Trap Card

When a Fairy-Type monster you control is destroyed by an opponent's card effect; gain 400 life points times the level of the destroyed monster.

That about covers it, I think. In next week's installment, the final Legendary Planet user will be revealed, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.


	10. Gathering of the Planets

**Author's Note:** I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get this chapter up this week, let alone today. It's been kind of a struggle to write for one reason. To make things even more difficult, I now seem to be fighting off some sort of stomach bug that I came down with yesterday. I think I'm mostly over it, but I'm not exactly at a hundred percent. I've also been a little distracted since Monday evening because of this recent shocking plot twist from the _Steven Universe_ cartoon series. That twist was so mind-blowing that I think I nearly became like that twit from the Little Cesar's commercial who couldn't wrap his head around them adding more cheese to the pizza with supposedly the most cheese. Anyway, on with the show!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX or Strawberry Panic.

* * *

Chapter 9: Gathering of the Planets

It was the day before the much-anticipated Founders Ball on the island, and Spica Academy was bustling with activity in a mad dash to get things ready. The ball was promising to be one of the biggest events on the island since the Astraea Star Cup. Meanwhile as Jaden was wandering the Spica grounds, he spotted Tabitha sitting alone on a bench under a tree out behind the school. Jaden noticed that Tabitha seemed a bit concerned about something. Out of concern, he decided to go over and see what was wrong.

"Hey Tabitha," Jaden spoke as he approached, getting the dark-haired girl's attention. "Everything okay?"

"Oh. I'm fine, just lost in thought," Tabitha answered.

"About what?" Jaden asked.

"…Mostly about my relationship with Sheila," Tabitha answered. "You know, after coming to this island and seeing so many other couples like us, I find that I'm a lot more at ease about us being together; that I no longer feel that foolish guilt I had over being in love with her or that we need to hide how we feel about each other from the rest of the world."

"Well that's good," Jaden replied. "But what's bothering you now?"

"Now I suddenly find myself wondering if our relationship will actually last," Tabitha answered. "I can't shake this fear that Sheila isn't as committed to me as I am to her. I mean for one thing, our relationship didn't start out too well. I wasn't really myself when we met."

"I'm sure Sheila knows that," Jaden told her.

"Maybe, but she probably wants me to be the bold and wild young woman who seduced her, lured her into the basement of an abandoned dorm and had her way with her," Tabitha responded. "Instead she's stuck with the shy and repressed girl you see before you. It's probably just a matter of time before she grows tired of me and leaves me for a woman who's as bold as the one who seduced her in the first place."

"C'mon Tabitha. You should give Sheila a little more credit," Jaden told her. "Maybe you were a different person when the two of you first met, but she really seems to care about you a lot."

"I wish I could be as certain about that as you," Tabitha told him as she rose to her feet. "If you'll excuse me, I think I'd like to go for a walk to try and clear my head."

Jaden let out a heavy sigh as he watched Tabitha left. As much as he wanted to help her, Jaden realized that a situation like this one was totally out of his hands.

"That girl really has some issues," Yubel remarked as she appeared next to Jaden.

"You know looking back, it's probably a good thing that Electra used Tabitha as one of her pawns," Jaden reasoned. "Otherwise Tabitha wouldn't have ever approached Sheila in the first place."

"You're right. The one good thing that Electra did when she was running Duel Academy America was to finally allow Tabitha to give into her own natural desires," Yubel agreed. "If she hadn't, Tabitha would still be totally repressed and miserable."

"But now it looks like her relationship with Sheila could go down the drain," Jaden responded.

"Oh come on. You should have a little more faith," Yubel told him. "I'm sure that those two will be able to work things out."

* * *

Tabitha's long walk had taken her all the way to Miator's library. She decided that finding a book to read might take her mind off things. Tabitha entered the building and spent several minutes browsing the shelves. After finding a book that seemed good, Tabitha headed off to one of the library's private rooms to read in total solitude. Tabitha found a room that she at first assumed was vacant, but upon opening the door she saw something that made her face totally red.

On the room's large table was Keiko on top of a Miator student with deep blue eyes like sapphires and long sky-blue hair. Both of them were still mostly dressed, but Keiko's uniform jacket was still on the ground and her tie was undone. The blunette's tie was also undone and her shirt was unbuttoned about halfway down. The two of them had been making out passionately when Tabitha had walked in.

About a second after the couple broke for air, Keiko noticed the dark-haired girl's arrival and glared at her. "Hey! Do you mind?"

"Uh… I'm s-s-sorry," a very flustered Tabitha responded before gently closing the door.

"Who was that?" the blunette asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Who cares?" Keiko responded. "Now, where were we?"

With that, the two of them went back to making out as if Tabitha had never shown up.

* * *

Tabitha ran out of the building as fast as her legs could carry her, dropping the book she had found somewhere along the way. She had been so embarrassed about walking in on something so private that she hadn't been paying attention to where she was going. Soon after finally exiting the building, Tabitha ran into something hard that caused her to fall on her butt.

"You idiotic klutz!" a voice shouted. Tabitha quickly opened her eyes to see an angry Momomi glaring down at her with her arms crossed. "Didn't you even watch where you were going? Thanks to you, my skirt's now dirty!"

"I… I'm sorry," Tabitha told her as she got up.

Momomi glanced down at the ground and gasped at something. "Oh my god!" She knelt down and picked up a small gold compact, which she quickly picked up and opened, finding that the mirror inside it was broken. "My favorite compact! You broke it, you dumb bitch!"

"I'm truly very sorry!" Tabitha insisted.

"This compact was a birthday gift from Kaname," Momomi continued. "And you ruined it!"

"Again. I'm extremely sorry," Tabitha repeated. "If there's anything I can do to make up for it…"

"Oh, you're going to make up for it alright!" Momomi responded as she loomed towards her. "You're going to pay for what you did by my slave for the next ten months!"

"Hey!" a voice cut in. The two looked to see Sheila standing nearby with her arms crossed. "Lay off my girl, you bitch!"

"This is none of your concern, whoever you are," Momomi told her.

"Like hell!" Sheila responded as she quickly moved in between Momomi and Tabitha. "You have no right to pick on Tabitha like that, especially for such a dumb accident, an accident that by the way was totally your fault. I don't know why Tabitha was running like that, but you were so busy doing your lipstick and looking at that stupid compact that you ran straight into her."

"You… you're saying that this was _my_ fault?" an outraged Momomi responded. "How dare you! It was clearly that idiot girlfriend of yours who broke my compact, and she's going to pay for it!"

"No way!" Sheila told her. "Now I'll only say it one more time! Back off!"

Just as Momomi was about to launch into an angry rant, a sinister smirk formed on her face. "You know, there's a much more civilized way to resolve this. We are duelists, after all. So how about this? Your friend and I will have a duel. If I win, she agrees to do whatever I say for as long as she's on the island. But if she somehow wins, I'll forget the whole thing."

"Fine, except for one thing," Sheila told her. "I'll be dueling you instead of Tabitha!"

"Sheila…" a stunned Tabitha spoke.

"Fine. It makes no difference to me," Momomi agreed. "In fact this way is better because I'll get to kill two birds with one stone. I'll teach you for interfering and get my own personal slave all at the same time."

With that, Sheila and Momomi both took their positions and activated their duel disks. As the two drew their opening hands, Jaden arrived Alexis. The couple instantly noticed Sheila and Momomi about to duel one another and went over to where Tabitha was.

"Tabitha, what's happening?" Jaden asked.

"It's all my fault," Tabitha responded. "I did something to make that Spica student mad at me, and Sheila stepped in to protect me."

"Jaden, isn't the girl Sheila's dueling Kaname Kenjo's girlfriend?" Alexis recalled.

"Yeah, and she's just as nasty," Jaden confirmed.

"I think I'll be going first," Momomi decided as she drew her first card. "I set one monster on the field and end my turn."

Sheila drew her first card. "First I activate Pot of Greed and draw two more cards! Then I summon Eidos the Underworld Squire in Attack Mode!"

Appearing on Sheila's side of the field was a lean humanoid demon clad totally in dark-grey armor. He had glowing red eyes, and atop his horned helmet was a tuft of long black hair. Hanging from the demon's back was a long tattered black cape.

"Jaden," a familiar voice spoke. Jaden, Alexis and Tabitha looked to see Tamao arriving with Miyuki. "Miyuki and I saw your friend, Tabitha running out of the library earlier and decided to see if anything was wrong."

"What exactly is going on here?" Miyuki asked.

"I'm not really sure myself, but it seems that Tabitha accidentally did something to get on Momomi's bad side," Jaden explained. "So now Sheila has stepped in to protect her."

"When Eidos has been summoned to the field, I can perform an extra tribute summon during the same turn!" Sheila continued. "I sacrifice Eidos to summon Caius the Shadow Monarch!"

Eidos shattered into particles of gold light as a twister of wind surrounded him. The twister quickly subsided to reveal an even larger and far more muscular demon also clad in dark-grey armor. He had red eyes and a pair of large horns. A long tattered black cape hung from his back, and his fingers were tipped with red claws.

"When Caius has been tribute summoned, he can banish one card on the field!" Sheila announced. "I use this effect to banish that face-down monster of yours!"

A cracking ball of black and purple energy suddenly formed between the palms of Caius's hands. As soon as the ball became large enough, the demon launched it across the field towards Momomi's monster. As soon as the ball hit, the creature revealed itself as an olive-green bipedal insect with long arms and legs ending with long white claws. It had a large mouth filled with fangs and a pair of small brown horns on the sides of its head. Upon being struck with the energy ball, the creature imploded into the sphere. Soon after, the ball shrank and faded away to nothing.

"A Man-Eater Bug, huh?" Sheila identified. "Too bad. Caius also inflicts 1000 points of damage if the card he banishes was a Dark monster. Oh well. Caius! Attack that bitch directly! Imperial Shadow Force!"

Another black sphere formed between Caius's clawed hands. When the sphere became large enough, the demon hurled it across the field at Momomi. Momomi raised her arms to try and shield herself, but the attack hit and knocked her life points down to 1600.

"This is my first time seeing Sheila duel," Jaden remarked. "So she uses a Monarch deck, huh?"

"That's what I always heard," Alexis responded. "This is actually my first time seeing her duel too. From the looks of it, her deck must be based around Caius the Shadow Monarch."

"Not necessarily," Miyuki told them. "Judging from the monster that your friend sacrificed in order to summon Caius, her deck could be based around an even more powerful Monarch."

"I set two cards on the field and end my turn!" Sheila announced.

Momomi drew her next card and smirked. "I'm about to show you just how foolish you were to challenge me. I equip Caius with the monster, Parasite Paranoid!"

Suddenly appearing on Momomi's side of the field was a fairly large blue centipede-like creature with beady red eyes and red spikes down the length of its back. Its head had a pair of large purple mandibles that were red from the end, and from its mouth flicked out a long thin yellow tongue. The length of its back was decorated with pairs of small yellow spots, with the segment of its back behind its head having a pair of large red and yellow eyespots. Its tail ended with three large purple claws with red tips. As soon as the insect creature appeared, it launched itself across the field and wrapped itself around Caius's left arm, with the claws on its tail latching onto his shoulder.

"Any monster equipped with Parasite Paranoid becomes an Insect and becomes unable to attack other Insect monsters or target other Insects with their effect," Momomi revealed. "But more importantly, now that Caius has become an Insect monster, I can now use this Spell card on him, Cocoon of Ultra Evolution!"

Suddenly Parasite Paranoid began to spew out some sort of golden substance like silk. Caius struggled in an attempt to free himself, but in seconds both he and the parasite had become encased in a large cocoon that began to pulse with a golden light.

"What the hell?" a stunned Sheila exclaimed.

Momomi let out an obnoxious laugh. "Cocoon of Ultra Evolution allows me to sacrifice any Insect monster on the field that's equipped with another card to summon another more powerful Insect monster from my deck, ignoring its regular summoning conditions. Since my parasite equipped itself onto Caius and made him into an Insect, he turned your monarch into the perfect target for my cocoon. As we speak, the cocoon is changing Caius into an powerful new Insect monster totally under my control."

"A card that lets you sacrifice an opponent's monster to summon one of your own," Alexis observed. "That's a new one to me."

"Yeah. That cocoon seems about as powerful as my Super Polymerization card," Jaden admitted.

"With the effect of the Cocoon, I use Caius to summon the Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth!" Momomi announced.

The cocoon continued to pulse with light and grew in size, and suddenly bursting out of it was a gigantic bulky green moth with a large pair of hind legs and two large blue wings on its back. On its head was a pair of large yellow horns that curved backward, along with a smaller white horn on the center of its forehead that curved down. Its face had four blue eyes and two small grey mandibles, along with a pair of small red eyes on the sides of its head.

"Hold it!" Sheila protested. "The Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth? You can only summon that thing with that really slow combo of Petit Moth and Cocoon of Evolution!"

"Weren't you listening before? I told you that the Cocoon of Ultra Evolution I used on Caius lets me bypass an Insect monster's normal summoning conditions," Momomi reminded her. "And not only that, when Parasite Paranoid is sent to the Graveyard, I can summon a level seven or higher Insect from my hand without having to worry about its usual summoning conditions. I use my parasites effect to summon a second Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth!"

Suddenly flying down out of the sky was another giant green moth identical to the first one that Momomi had summoned.

"Amazing! Momomi just summoned two monsters with 3500 ATK in a single turn!" a stunned Tamao observed.

"Sheila doesn't have any monsters out to protect herself," Alexis added. "If Momomi's attacks get through, she's finished."

"This duel is finished!" Momomi declared. "I use the first Great Moth to attack you directly!"

"Not so fast! I activate the Continuous Trap, Escalation of the Monarchs!" Sheila announced. "This card lets me perform a tribute summon during my opponent's Main Phase or Battle Phase!"

"Interesting, but unfortunately you don't have any monsters to use as a sacrifice!" Momomi pointed out.

"Actually, I do. I activate my other facedown card, The Monarchs Stormforth!" Sheila announced. "This card lets me pull off a tribute summon using one of my opponent's monsters! I sacrifice your first Great Moth to summon a second Caius the Shadow Monarch!"

The moth that had originally burst from the cocoon suddenly shattered into particles of gold light as a massive twister surrounded it. In seconds the twister subsided to reveal that Caius had reappeared on the field.

"What the… how dare you!" a stunned and outraged Momomi exclaimed.

"You sacrificed one of my monsters to bring out one of yours," Sheila pointed out. "It only seemed fair that I return the favor. And since Caius was just tribute summoned, I can use his effect to banish your second Great Moth from the field!"

Caius formed a ball of crackling black energy between his hands and launched it at the other giant moth. Upon being hit, the Great Moth was sucked into the sphere. Soon after, the sphere imploded and faded completely from the field. With both of the moths gone, Tabitha breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

"That was a very impressive countermove," a familiar voice remarked. Jaden and the others looked to see that Erica had suddenly arrived.

"Erica. What're you doing here?" Jaden asked.

"I was originally in the library waiting to meet Keiko, but she never showed up," the brown-haired girl explained. "So I decided to come out here to wait for her and saw this duel taking place. That's one of your friends dueling, right?"

"Yeah. And I'm still not sure how all this got started," Jaden replied.

"Well it certainly seems like an intense duel," Erica noted.

"If Sheila loses, I'm to do whatever her opponent says for as long as I'm on the island," Tabitha revealed.

"Say what?" a stunned Alexis exclaimed.

"Dammit! I should've known there'd be stakes like that with someone like Momomi involved," Jaden remarked. "Let's just hope that Sheila can win this thing."

"Well bitch, looks like you're the one with the empty field now," Sheila observed. "You got any more moves or what?"

Momomi scowled. "I set two cards on the field and end my turn."

Sheila drew her next card. "I sacrifice Caius to summon Erebus the Underworld Monarch!"

Caius suddenly shattered into particles of gold light and a massive twister appeared behind Sheila. In a few seconds the twister subsided to reveal a gigantic humanoid demon sitting atop a massive stone throne. He had gleaming red eyes and was covered totally in dark-grey armor. Two large black curved horns grew from the sides of his head, and on his back was large metal ring. On each shoulder was a set of three large purple spikes, and a single purple spike grew from each of his knees. A long cape covered in black fur hung from his back. The demon giant sat on his throne with his head resting on his left hand.

"Whoa! That is one huge Monarch," Jaden declared.

"As I suspected. Your friend, Ms. Sheila uses a deck centering on the two original Monarchs," Miyuki observed.

"Original Monarchs?" Alexis asked.

Miyuki nodded. "Besides the six Elemental Monarchs such as Mobius and Caius, there are two other Monarchs that were said to have come into existence before them, Erebus the Underworld Monarch and Ehther the Heavenly Monarch. These two Monarchs rule over the other six, and can each be summoned using a single monster that had been tribute summoned as a sacrifice."

"I now activate Erebus's effect!" Sheila announced. "When Erebus has been tribute summoned, I can send two Monarch Spell or Trap cards with different names from my hand or deck to the Graveyard, and Erebus then sends a card from their hand, Graveyard or field back to their deck! I send Tenacity of the Monarchs and Return of the Monarchs from my deck to the Graveyard to return one of your face-down cards back to the deck!"

With his head still propped against his left hand, Erebus glanced down towards Momomi and pointed the index finger of his right hand down at one of her large set cards. A beam of black energy fired from Erebus's finger and struck the left facedown card, causing it to vanish from the field.

"Erebus! Attack her directly!" Sheila commanded. "Imperial Darkness!"

Erebus lifted his right hand and a ball of crackling black energy formed in his palm. With a turn of his wrist, the demon emperor fired a beam of black energy down towards Momomi.

"I activate my remaining face-down card, Disturbed Nest!" Momomi announced. "This card cancels a direct attack from an opponent's monster and lets me special summon an Insect from my hand! I summon Royal Caterpillar!"

A large ball of dark leaves appeared in front of Momomi and took the blast from Erebus. The ball broke apart upon being hit by the blast, and falling out of it was a large black caterpillar with red legs and a yellow human-like face with blue eyes. Pairs of red spots ran down the length of the caterpillar's back, and a pair of small blue horns grew from the creature's forehead.

"When Royal Caterpillar has been special summoned, I can destroy one Spell or Trap card my opponent controls!" Momomi announced. "I use this effect to destroy Escelation of the Monarchs!"

Royal Caterpillar suddenly skittered across the field with amazing speed and wrapped itself around the large version of Sheila's Trap card. Sheila and the others watched in disgust as the larva devoured the Trap card in a matter of seconds before crawling back over to Momomi's side of the field.

"Guess I end my turn," Sheila announced.

Momomi drew her next card. "I activate the Spell card, Card of Demise and draw five more cards from my deck! Next I activate the Spell card, Royal Jelly and sacrifice Royal Caterpillar to summon Metamorphosed Insect Queen!"

A dish of a gold liquid appeared in front of the caterpillar, and Jaden and the others watched with revulsion as it ate the liquid up. When the thing finished its meal, it quickly covered itself with a golden silk thread from its tail that quickly formed into a large cocoon. Seconds later, the cocoon burst open, and from it emerged a massive insect covered in a red exoskeleton with blue trim. It had a yellow and black human-like face with red eyes, and from its forehead grew a pair of long yellow antenna. The sides of its head and long neck were covered in pieces of red exoskeleton with long blue horns. It had a yellow breastplate, and long yellow legs ending with large blue claws. Growing from its abdomen were two pairs of large transparent green wings beneath a pair of hard red wings covered in spikes.

"Next I summon Insect Knight in Attack Mode!" Momomi announced.

Appearing next to the Insect Queen was a humanoid insect covered by a grey exoskeleton with brass trim. Its head had two small antenna-like horns, along with a pair of large red eyes and large mandibles. In its right hand, the creature carried a large saber.

"I attack Erebus with Metamorphosed Insect Queen!" Momomi announced. "Royal Hell Breath!"

"Are you nuts? Both Erebus and that gross Insect Queen of yours have 2800 ATK!" Sheila pointed out. "All they'll do is take each other out!"

"That's what you think! From my hand I activate the effect of Skull Cicada!" Momomi announced. "When one of my Insect monsters does battle, I can discard Skull Cicada to have the opposing monster lose 1000 ATK during the battle!"

Suddenly appeared on the field was a large and hideous white cicada with long black legs and beady red eyes. The front of its head had indentations that looked like the face of a human skull, including a pair of large nostrils that seemed to serve as the eyes. On its back was a pair of large transparent purple wings. Skull Cicada flapped its wings and created a defining noise that caused Erebus to quickly cover his ears with his hands. A second later, the Insect Queen fired a beam of green light from her mouth at the demon giant.

The blast from Metamorphosed Insect Queen struck Erebus in the chest and shattered him into particles of gold light. Meanwhile, Sheila's life points dropped to 3000. Soon after, Skull Cicada vanished from the field.

"And now I activate my Insect Queen's effect!" Momomi announced. "By sacrificing another Insect monster, Metamorphosed Insect Queen can make a second attack! I sacrifice Insect Knight to have my Insect Queen attack you directly!"

The Insect Queen suddenly grabbed Insect Knight with her powerful claws and lifted him into the air. Soon after, the creature took a massive bite out of the Insect Knight's back, getting its green blood all over her cheeks. Jaden and the others were forced to watch in horror and disgust as the Queen totally devoured her knight. When she finished her meal, the Queen wiped her face with her wrist and fired another blast of green light from her mouth. Sheila raised her arms to shield herself, but the attack still dropped her life points to a mere 200.

Momomi let out another obnoxious laugh. "You should've just stayed out of my business. If you want to surrender now, I'll totally understand. After all, there's no way you can win. Oh, and don't worry about that girlfriend of yours. I promise not to work her too hard. I think she'll make a fine maid."

"There's no way in hell I'd every abandon the girl I love to a horrible bitch like you!" Sheila declared. "I'd throw myself in front of an oncoming truck to protect her!"

Tabitha was visibly moved by Sheila's words, so much so that a single tear rolled down her cheek.

"Well, don't say I wasn't being merciful," Momomi replied with a shrug. "I end my turn, and with the end of my turn, the last card in my hand goes to the Graveyard due to the effect of Card of Demise."

Sheila drew her next card. "I summon Edea the Heavenly Squire in Attack Mode!"

Materializing on Sheila's side of the field was a woman warrior clad almost totally in shining silver armor with gold trim. A knight's helmet with a mask and a broad arch around the back and gold wing-like blades on the sides covered her head. Thick armor covered her shoulders and wrists, and on her legs were white stockings with gold diamonds adorned with red jewels on her knees. Eight white straps ending with gold bands hung from her back, and around her waist was a short white and gold skirt with a red breechcloth on the front decorated with a golden design.

"When Edea has been summoned to the field, her effect lets me summon another monster with 800 ATK and 1000 DEF from my deck in Defense Mode!" Sheila announced. "I use this effect to bring out another copy of Eidos the Underworld Squire!"

On cue, Eidos reappeared on the field next to Edea in a kneeling position.

"Hey Miyuki, do you think that Sheila is going to summon that other Super Monarch you were telling us about before?" Jaden asked.

"It seems likely, though I don't know how summoning Ehther would alter this situation," Miyuki pointed out. "Then again, that seems to be what this latest move of hers is leading up to."

"As you know, when Eidos has been summoned to the field, I can perform an extra tribute summon during this turn," Sheila announced. "I sacrifice both Eidos and Edea to summon The Despair Uranus!"

"She what!" Jaden, Erica and Alexis all exclaimed.

Both Edea and Eidos shattered into particles of gold light as a massive twister surrounded them. In seconds the twister faded to reveal a large floating blue sphere decorated with ornate gold markings. On its front was a large gold plate shaped to look like the strange eye-like symbol of the fabled Millennium Items. Rather than a pupil though, on the front of the eye was a silver mask with a golden jaw and white eyes. A round blue gem decorated the mask's golden forehead, and two vertical black lines decorated its cheeks.

Momomi was completely stunned upon seeing Sheila's latest monster. "That's… a Legendary Planet? Where the hell did someone like you get a card like that?"

"The principal at my academy gave it to me not long ago after acing an exam," Sheila revealed. "Come to think of it, I think me getting Uranus might be the reason why Tabitha and I got to come to this island for its festival."

"Tabitha, did Principal Mackenzie really give Uranus to Sheila?" Jaden asked.

"Uh… yes. After watching Sheila win her exam duel, Principal Mackenzie said that the card seemed like a perfect fit for her," Tabitha confirmed.

"And now the first effect of Uranus kicks in!" Sheila announced. "When Uranus has been tribute summoned while I have no Spell or Trap cards on the field, I can have my opponent choose between either a Continuous Spell or a Continuous Trap, and then I can set a card of that type straight from my deck. So which is it gonna be, bitch? Spell or Trap."

Momomi scowled. "I choose Trap."

"Bold choice," Sheila declared. "Okay then. I set a Continuous Trap from my deck on the field. Next I play the Continuous Spell card, March of the Monarchs! While this card is on the field, tribute summoned monsters I control can't be targeted or destroyed by card effects. Not only that, Uranus prevents my face-up cards in my Spell and Trap Zones from being destroyed, and he gains 300 ATK for each face-up Spell and Trap I have on the field! Which means right now, his ATK is at 3200!"

"What an impressive combo," Erica observed. "March of the Monarchs prevents Uranus from being destroyed, and Uranus prevents March of the Monarchs from being destroyed and gains an ATK boost from it being on the field. I wonder if my uncle envisioned that Uranus would he used with this type of strategy?"

"Uranus, blast that ugly bug off the field!" Sheila commanded. "Wail of Despair!"

The mouth of Uranus's mask opened up to reveal a large and powerful speaker. The floating orb let out a deep, loud blast of sound that struck the Insect Queen and shattered her into particles of gold light. Once the attack ended, Uranus's mask slid shut and Momomi's life points dropped to 1200.

"I set one card on the field and end my turn!" Sheila announced.

Momomi drew her next card. "I activate the effect of Cocoon of Ultra Evolution from the Graveyard! I banish the Cocoon from my Graveyard and return Insect Princess from my Graveyard to my deck to draw one more card!"

"You must be pretty desperate right now, huh?" Sheila assumed. "Well you can draw whatever you want, because I have this duel locked up."

A sinister smirk formed on Momomi's face. "Don't be too sure. I activate the Spell card I just drew, Molting Fusion! Using this card, I banish Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth and Skull Cicada from my Graveyard to Fusion Summon Death's Head Great Moth!"

Ghostly forms of the Great Moth and Skull Cicada appeared on the field and flew up into a vortex that had formed in the sky above. The sky suddenly darkened, and flying out of the vortex was Momomi's giant moth in a new form. Much of its body had turned chalk-white, and it had a pair of large black eyespots on its forehead that resembled the eyes of a skull. Its massive wings had turned black and were decorated with white skull-like markings.

Momomi let out another obnoxious laugh. "Now you're truly finished. My Death's Head Moth may have the same ATK as my Great Moth, but she also has an effect that's pure poison for your monster! When Death's Head Great Moth attacks an opponent's monster, that monster loses 400 ATK for each face-up Spell and Trap card on the field during the battle!"

"I activate the Continuous Trap, The Prime Monarch!" Sheila announced. "Since The Prime Monarch is now face-up, Uranus's ATK rises to 3500!"

"Weren't you listening to a single word I just said?" Momomi asked. "It doesn't matter how much you pump up Uranus's ATK! Once my moth attacks, your monster will lose 400 ATK for each face-up Spell and Trap on the field! All you've done by activating that Trap is dig yourself even deeper!"

"We'll see about that," Sheila told her.

"Indeed we will!" Momomi responded. "Great Moth! Blow Uranus away and end this! Death's Head Storm!"

The giant moth flapped its massive wings and sent forth a blast of purple wind down towards Uranus. In seconds, the windblast totally obscured Uranus from view. Another second later though, a deep noise could be heard, and the wind broke apart to show Uranus with his mouth open and his speaker playing. The sound waves from the floating orb were pushing the windblast back.

"W-what!" a stunned Momomi exclaimed. "What's happening? That monster of yours should've been destroyed!"

"I activated my other face-down card, the card you picked for me to set on the field earlier with Uranus's effect!" Sheila explained. "The Monarchs Erupt! While this Trap is on the field, the effects of all monsters on the field that weren't tribute summoned are negated! Meaning that your moth's effect to lower Uranus's ATK has been canceled! And since now I have another face-up Trap card, Uranus's ATK is now at 3800!"

The sound blast from Uranus totally broke through the Great Moth's attack and tore a hole in the center of its thorax. The slain moth began to drop towards the field before shattering into particles of gold light. Meanwhile, Momomi's life points had dropped to 900. All of the color had drained from Momomi's face and her left eye twitched as she looked across the field at Uranus.

"Since you seem to be done, I'll go ahead and make my move," Sheila decided as she drew her next card. "Uranus! Attack her directly! Wail of Despair!"

Uranus fired another sound blast across the field at Momomi. The attack knocked the brown-haired girl to the ground and her life points dropped to zero. With the duel finally over, Uranus vanished from the field.

"There! Now get lost!" Sheila told Momomi. "And don't let me ever see you near Tabitha again!"

Momomi glared at Sheila as she got back to her feet. "This isn't over."

With that, Momomi turned on her heel and stormed off. Meanwhile, Tabitha rushed over to Sheila and pulled her into a hug while giving her a very passionate kiss on the lips. Sheila returned the kiss, and the two remained like that for several moments before breaking apart for air.

"Wow. I don't think I've ever seen you act this affectionate in public," Sheila remarked.

"I want you," Tabitha whispered in Sheila's ear. "Right now."

"Oh. Our room is pretty far from here, you know," Sheila whispered back.

"Never mind our room. I know a good place," Tabitha told her.

With that, Tabitha took Sheila by the hand and led her back towards the library. Jaden and the others were silent as they watched them leave.

"Well, I guess Tabitha has gotten over her issues," Jaden quietly remarked to Alexis.

"If you'll all excuse us, Tamao and I were on our way to meet Shizuma and Nagisa," Miyuki informed them. "We'll see you later, Jaden."

With that, Tamao and Miyuki promptly left. Soon after, Keiko came out of the library with the blue-haired Miator student that Tabitha had caught her with earlier.

"There you are, Keiko!" an annoyed Erica spoke. "Do you know how long I've been waiting for you?"

"Sorry Erica. I ran into my girlfriend, Mariko here and got… distracted," Keiko explained.

"I'll see you later," Mariko told Keiko.

"You bet you will," Keiko replied before giving the blunette a gentle peck on the lips.

As Mariko started to leave, Keiko gave her a pat on the butt, causing the blunette to blush and smirk back at her. Moments later, Mariko was gone.

"Okay!" Keiko spoke as she clapped her hands together. "Let's start that tutoring session you promised me."

Erica merely rolled her eyes as she and Keiko headed back towards the library.

"Okay, now I know that something shady is going on here," Yubel declared as she appeared before Jaden and Alexis. "There's something going on with this festival."

"What do you mean?" Jaden asked.

"Look at who we have here on the island," Yubel responded. "First we have Principal Mackenzie, owner of The Supremacy Sun. Next there's Miyuki, who has the Tripper Mercury. Then we have Reggie, who holds The Splendid Venus. After that, there's Shizuma, who has Elemental Hero Terra Firma. Next there's Axel, wielder of The Blazing Mars. Then there's that twit, Hiroki, who has The Grand Jupiter. Now we have Sheila, who was recently given The Despair Uranus. Along with her we David, holder of The Big Saturn, Lena who holds The Tyrant Neptune, and Kaname, who has The Suppression Pluto."

"I get it! All of the Legendary Planet holders are together on the island," Alexis realized.

Yubel nodded. "And it can't be a coincidence. There has to be some reason why they've all been brought together."

"But what could that reason be?" Jaden asked.

"The person who'd probably know is Pegasus," Yubel answered. "He's the one who handed out the invitations. I'm sure he's up to something, and we better find out what that something is before it's too late."

* * *

Akane was leaving class and heading back to the dorms to lie down. As she left the building, she suddenly got a strange feeling that told her to pull out the card for The Invader X. She looked at the card and somehow got the impression that it was telling her she had enemies all around.

"The Ten Planets… they could be a problem for us," Akane spoke. "But they will not stop us. We will make this world into the world we want."

"Hey Akane," a voice spoke, snapping her from her thoughts. Akane turned around to see Amane looking at her with a raised eyebrow. "You okay?"

"Uh… yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" Akane asked.

"I just saw you standing there talking to yourself," Amane told her. "You sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine! Really," Akane assured her. As she said that, she unconsciously slipped The Invader X back into her deck.

"Well… okay," Amane replied. "I'll see you around."

With that, Amane left. Akane meanwhile continued onto the dorms. She had absolutely no memory of the little conversation she had been having with herself when Amane had shown up. Akane wondered again if she was starting to lose her mind.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I hope everyone enjoyed this latest chapter. As I said earlier, it was kind of a struggle to write, and I don't think it was my best work to be honest. For one thing, I had to go back and rewrite parts of the duel. On that note, I think I should go a little into the cards used in this chapter.

I don't exactly what let me the decision to have Sheila be the one to wield The Despair Uranus. I think it might've just been an excuse to use both her and Tabitha in another story, since they were my two favorite OCs from _Ritual of Doom_. Well... them and Electra. Anyway, having Sheila use Uranus was an easy decision, but the hard part was figuring out what deck she should use the Planet card in. I decided that a Monarch deck would be a perfect fit because those decks have a lot of powerful Continuous Spell and Trap cards, and because Uranus needs to be tribute summoned in order to activate his search effect. To prove that concept, I actually put together a Monarch deck of my own and used a copy of The Despair Uranus in it.

The deck that Sheila used in this chapter is more or less like the one I built, and I have to say using Uranus together with the Monarchs is a pretty good strategy. The combo of Uranus together with March of the Monarchs and The Monarchs erupt is a pretty powerful lock combo. And since none of the cards Sheila used in this chapter were made up, those of you reading this story can built a version of this deck yourself. Its more or less like the standard type of Monarch decks used in tournaments, and you can find several examples of such a deck on YouTube. To make this version of the deck work though, you might want to consider using two copies of Uranus along with two copies of The First Monarch and/or two copies of Restoration of the Monarchs from the _Flames of Destruction_ booster set to make Uranus easier to summon in the deck.

Now we come to Momomi's deck, and the reason why this chapter ended up being kind of difficult to write. Once again, I had Momomi using an Insect deck like the one she used in _Strawberry Crisis_. I think the reason I had her use an Insect deck in that story is because of that bee comment she made to Kaname in the Strawberry Panic anime when they were plotting another attempt to "seduce" Hikari. Anyway, this time around I had Momomi use some of the new Insect cards from the _Ancient Millennium_ booster set, since those cards are fairly impressive. To make the duel work though, I ended up having to create a bunch of new cards for Momomi to use.

 **Royal Caterpillar**

EARTH/Insect/Effect/2/ATK 600/DEF 900

When this card is successfully Special Summoned; you can destroy 1 Spell/Trap Card your opponent controls. This card gains 300 ATK for each face-up Insect-Type monster you control.

 **Royal Jelly**

Spell Card

Tribute 1 face-up Insect-Type monster you control; Special Summon 1 "Insect Queen" or "Metamorphosed Insect Queen" from your hand.

Royal Caterpillar is a monster I made up on the fly while outlining the duel. I sort of intended it to be a larval form of Insect Queen. Royal Jelly meanwhile was a card who's concept I had been toying with for a while. For those of you who don't know, royal jelly is the substance given to bee larva that causes them to mature into queen bees.

 **Skull Cicada**

DARK/Insect/Effect/3/ATK 1100/DEF 300

When an Insect-Type monster you control does battle with an opponent's monster, you can send this card from your hand to the Graveyard; the opponent's monster loses 1000 ATK during the Damage Step only.

This is another monster I made up on the fly while outlining the duel upon remembering that Metamorphosed Insect Queen doesn't have the same ATK boosting effect as the original Insect Queen. I can't shake the feeling that I've made up a similar or identical monster for a previous story though.

 **Molting Fusion**

Spell Card

Fusion Summon 1 Insect Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck, by banishing Fusion Materials listed on it from your field or Graveyard.

 **Death's Head Great Moth**

DARK/Insect/Fusion/Effect/8/ATK 3500/DEF 3000

"Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth" + 1 Insect-Type effect monster

Can only be Fusion Summoned and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways. When this card attacks an opponent's monster, that monster loses 400 ATK for each face-up Spell/Trap Card on the field.

These were two more cards I made up on the fly when I realized that destroying Metamorphosed Insect Queen wasn't going to be enough to finish the duel. Molting Fusion is basically the Insect version of Miracle Fusion and Dragon's Mirror.

That does it for this week's installment. Next week, the night of the much anticipated Founders Ball arrives! Until then, please stay tuned.

In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.


	11. The Founders Ball, Part 1

**Author's Note:** I feel I should apologize for the extreme delay with getting this chapter up. I know I said I'd have it up in about a week and it ended up taking me about two months. What happened was I had some serious writer's block with certain parts of this chapter, and by extension parts of the next chapter as well. That writer's block was made worse by a bout of depression triggered by something that happened in my personal life a day or two after I had posted the previous chapter. On top of all that, I had a pretty inconvenient work schedule at my job for the past couple of months.

So again, I apologize for the long absence. But as they say, better late then never. The important thing is that I'm back at least for now. So without further delay, here's the next installment of our story.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX or Strawberry Panic.

* * *

Chapter 10: The Founders Ball, Part 1

It was just after 6:00 AM as Erica stood with her arms crossed looking out the window of her dorm room at the rising sun. The morning of the Founders Ball had finally come, and the night before Erica had hardly been able to sleep. She had been nervous about her upcoming date with Akane, and was even more nervous now that her date was only a few hours away. Erica was now second-guessing all of her preparations for the date, especially the dress she had put together for the ball. She was starting to think that asking Akane out in the first place was a major mistake.

After another ten minutes, Keiko woke up and found Erica staring out the window. "What the heck? Erica, how long have you been up?"

"Oh… I'm not sure really," Erica answered. "Did I wake you?"

"Nah, I'm just an early riser," Keiko told her as she got out of bed. "Everything okay?"

"To tell you the truth… I'm actually kind of scared," Erica admitted.

"Worried about your big date with Akane going wrong, right?" Keiko deduced. "Don't stress about it so much."

"I can't help it!" Erica told her. "I just can't stop worrying that I might not be good enough for someone like Akane. I mean… what if she only agreed to go out with me tonight out of pity?"

Keiko sighed and put a hand on Erica's shoulder. "Erica, I really don't think you have anything to worry about. Look, I've been here longer than you, and from what I've seen, Akane really does seem to be interested in you."

"And how can you possibly know that?" Erica asked.

"You think you're the first girl on this island to try and ask Akane out? A lot of others before you have tried, and every time Akane just blew them off," Keiko revealed. "You're the only girl I know who's managed to actually get a date with her, which means there's clearly something about you that she likes. So stop worrying so much, okay?"

After a few moments, a small smile came to Erica's face. "Okay."

"Good. Well, we may as well go ahead and get dressed," Keiko decided. "We've got a big day ahead of us both, not to mention an even bigger night."

* * *

It was midmorning as Jaden entered the dining room with a scowl on his face. As he took a seat at the table, Alexis was at the opposite side finishing her breakfast.

"And just where were you this morning?" Alexis asked.

"I woke up early thinking about how all the Legendary Planets are here together on the island," Jaden explained. "So I decided to go and ask Pegasus about it."

"And what did he say?" Alexis asked.

"I didn't even get to see him," Jaden answered. "That butler of his, Croquet said that he was in the middle of important business and couldn't be disturbed."

"Which was an obvious lie," Yubel added as she appeared behind Jaden's chair. "He's ducking us. I just know it."

"But why?" Alexis asked.

"No idea, but I'm sure there's something more going on here," Yubel insisted. "He brought all of the Planet users together to the island for some reason, and we should probably find out what it is before something truly terrible happens."

"Well, we could try asking him about it tonight at the Founders Ball," Alexis suggested. "I mean the last I heard, he should be attending."

"Oh hey! Good idea, Lex," Jaden responded. "There's no way Pegasus could avoid us there."

At that moment, Nagisa entered the room with Shizuma. "Morning guys!"

"Oh! Hey Nagisa," Jaden responded.

"So, did you two try out your outfits for the ball yet?" Shizuma asked as she and Nagisa sat at the table.

"Outfits?" Jaden repeated with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh yeah! Someone working for Pegasus brought over some clothes for us to wear to the ball," Alexis recalled. "I have to say, the dress I ended up with is pretty nice."

"You mean I'm gonna have to wear a tux to this thing?" Jaden asked.

"This is a formal event, you know," Shizuma pointed out. "Wearing your regular outfit to something like this would be in bad taste."

"I'm actually looking forward to seeing how you look in a tuxedo," Alexis admitted.

"Oh… well in that case, I think I could put up with it," Jaden decided.

* * *

The night of the ball had finally arrived, and practically everyone on this island was in attendance. The Spica Academy Orchestra was playing an assortment of upbeat classical tunes, and all of the guests were dressed in their finest. The ball had only been going on for about ten minutes as Erica waited outside the doors of the gym for Akane to show up. It felt like a swarm of butterflies was flying around in her stomach as she waited.

"Sorry I'm late," a familiar voice spoke, getting Erica's attention.

Erica looked and saw Akane standing before her wearing an outfit similar to a prince in a fairytale. She had on a night-blue shirt with gold trim and gold epilates, along with a red sash around her waist, black pants and polished brown boots. On her hands, Akane wore a pair of white gloves.

"Have you been waiting long?" Akane asked.

"Uh… no. Not at all," Erica answered. "You look great."

"And you look beautiful," Akane declared before kissing Erica's hand.

Erica's face turned bright red. "Um, shall we go in?"

"Let's," Akane replied as she took Erica by the hand, and with that the two of them entered the gym.

* * *

The ball was pretty much in full swing as Jaden and Alexis stood side by side near the refreshment table. Alexis was wearing a strapless ice-blue dress with matching elbow-high gloves, along with a pearl necklace. Jaden meanwhile had on a burgundy tuxedo with a red tie and red cummerbund. The two of them were both scanning the crowd as most of the other guests mingled with one another.

"Everyone certainly seems to be having a good time," Alexis remarked.

"Yeah. I'm sure Hikari's thrilled about that," Jaden assumed. "She and the student council really put a lot of effort into getting things ready."

"Let's just focus on finding Pegasus for right now," Yubel told the couple as she appeared next to Jaden. "We need to asking him about the Legendary Planets."

After two or three more minutes of scanning the crowd, the three finally spotted Pegasus as he entered the gym. The silver-haired card creator had on a red tuxedo with a black tie, similar to his usual outfit. As soon as Pegasus came in, Jaden and Alexis went straight towards him.

"Mr. Pegasus!" Jaden spoke, getting his attention.

"Ah! Jaden my boy!" Pegasus responded. "I trust you and Ms. Alexis are enjoying yourselves."

"This is turning out to be quite the party," Alexis admitted. "We have something important to ask you about."

"We noticed that every one of the Legendary Planet users are here together on this island," Jaden told him. "We'd like to know if you had something to do with that."

"Hmm… now that you mention it, I hadn't noticed that before," Pegasus answered. "It never occurred to me that the guest list I made would put all of the Legendary Planets together in one place. Interesting how things work out, isn't it?" He then glanced into the crowd. "Oh! If you'll both excuse me, I just spotted the headmistress. She and I have a lot to catch up on."

With that, Pegasus moved off towards the other side of the gym before Jaden or Alexis could stop him.

"Could that lie have been any more transparent?" Yubel asked as she reappeared behind Jaden and Alexis.

"It's pretty clear that Pegasus is hiding the reason why he brought all of the Planet users to the island," Alexis agreed. "But it looks like he's determined not to tell us."

"Yeah, and we can't exactly interrogate him, especially not here," Jaden realized. "It looks like we have no choice but to wait until Pegasus decides to let us in on what he's planning."

* * *

In another corner of the gym, Sheila and Tabitha were standing together just watching the crowd. Sheila had on a strapless red dress with a gold necklace, while Tabitha had on a white dress with matching elbow-high gloves. Each of them held a glass of punch in their hands.

"Not a bad party," Sheila remarked. "A little stuffy maybe, but overall it's pretty good. You enjoying yourself babe?"

"So far," Tabitha answered.

"You two have a lot of nerve showing up here," a familiar voice spoke. The couple looked to see Momomi standing before them in a canary yellow dress with matching gloves. "I should've posted a sign with your pictures on the door saying not to let you in."

"Buzz off, bitch," Sheila told her. "Tabitha and I do not want to deal with your crap."

"Who dares to talk to my Momomi that way?" a voice cut in.

The three looked to see Kaname approaching. She had on what looked like a black military uniform similar to the kind worn by American navel officers.

"Kaname! These two are the ones who humiliated me the other day," Momomi informed her. "And broke the compact you gave me."

Kaname looked at Sheila and sneered. "You must be the tramp who defeated Momomi. I'm going to make you pay for that."

"Bring it on," Sheila responded. "I'll kick your ass just like I did with your girlfriend."

"Don't be so sure. After all, you're not the only one with a Legendary Planet," Kaname told her. "Of course as much as I want to teach you a lesson, this isn't the time or place. As part of Spica's student council, Momomi and I put a lot of work into helping get this ball together. Besides, dueling you at an event like this would be in poor taste. Mark my words though, we will settle this soon enough."

With that, Kaname and Momomi left. Tabitha let out a heavy sigh of relief as soon as they were gone.

Sheila noticed Tabitha's reaction. "Hey. You wanna leave?"

"No. I'll be fine," Tabitha assured her. "Besides, I don't want to give those two the satisfaction of knowing that they ruined our good time."

"Damn straight," Sheila agreed. "C'mon. Let's go find some people here that we actually like."

* * *

In yet another part of the gym, Reggie and Atticus were sitting at one of the tables and talking. Atticus was wearing a tuxedo with a white jacket, black pants and black tie. Reggie meanwhile had on a sparkling silvery dress with gloves that went up past her elbows and a gold necklace. As Atticus started bringing up ideas for where they should go next once the Founders Festival had ended, Reggie noticed her father a few feet away talking to one of the teachers of Spica Academy and couldn't help but stare. Principal Mackenzie glanced back and noticed Reggie looking at him, and for a brief moment it seemed like he was going to go over to her but instead resumed his conversation with the teacher.

Atticus of course noticed Reggie looking across the room at her father right away. "Hey Mac, don't you think you and your dad should finally talk things out?"

"You're probably right, but… I just can't bring myself to approach him," Reggie answered. "A part of me still sees him as a monster who made my life a living hell."

"Yeah, but that wasn't the real him," Atticus pointed out. "That bitch, Electra messed with his head, and yours too."

"I know all that, but still… I can't just forget about all of what happened between us," Reggie told him. She let out a heavy sigh. "You're probably right that I need to work things out with my dad, but I just need a little more time."

"Hey, I'm not trying to rush you into anything," Atticus assured her as he put his hand on hers. "I'm just trying to help."

"I know," Reggie replied with a small smile. "And I love you for it."

"Hey, why don't I get us a couple more drinks," Atticus suggested as he rose from the table. "I'll be right back."

* * *

While practically everyone else at the ball seemed to be having a good time, Lena was in another corner of the gym wishing she were somewhere else. Originally Lena had planned to skip the ball and stay in her room for the night, but Pegasus had cornered her while she was out for a walk earlier and insisted that she attend. So there Lena was, standing by the refreshment table in the navy-blue dress that one of Pegasus's minions had picked out for her to wear – a dress with a skirt that was far too long to be comfortable – and drinking a glass of punch with a displeased expression on her face. It seemed that she was in for a very long night.

"You look like you're having a terrible time," a voice spoke. Lena looked and saw Axel approaching her in a dark-brown tuxedo with a red tie.

"These kinds of parties aren't really my thing," Lena told him. "Especially since I'm currently single. I wouldn't be here except Pegasus wouldn't leave me the hell alone until I told him I'd show up."

"I kinda know how you feel. Parties like this aren't really my thing either," Axel revealed. "But since Pegasus asked me to help provide security here, I had to show up too."

"You're Axel Brodie, right?" Lena recalled. "I've heard some pretty interesting things about you. In addition to being a pro duelist, you're also some kind of mercenary, right?"

"You could say that," Axel answered. "And from what I hear, you're something of a pretty deadly prize hunter. If you think about it, we kind of fit together in the same group."

"I guess we do," Lena admitted.

At that moment, Atticus showed up at the punch bowel. "Oh! Hey Axel. How's it going?"

"Pretty good, you?" Axel replied.

"Having a blast," Atticus answered. He then suddenly noticed Lena was there. "Say, you're Lena Rogers, right? I've been hearing quite a lot about you since coming to the island. Say, how 'bout you and I get together for a duel later? I'd really like to see what you're capable of."

Lena suddenly became furious and threw her drink in Atticus's face. "Kiss off!"

With that, Lena stormed off. Atticus and Axel both watched her leave, blinking in surprise.

"What the hell was that about?" Axel asked.

"No idea," Atticus answered. "But then I have unfortunately ticked off a few women in the past one way or another."

"You mean she's like an ex-girlfriend or something?" Axel asked.

"Actually no. This is the first time I've met her," Atticus replied. "Well, whatever the issue is though, I'm sure I can smooth it over with her later. After all, you're talking to one of the most charming guys around."

* * *

Amane and Hikari were near the center of the gym talking with Shizuma and Nagisa. Amane had on a white tuxedo with a blue sash that had gold trim, while Hikari had on an elegant white gown with a red sash that also had gold trim, making them look quite a bit like a prince and princess. Shizuma meanwhile had on a stunning black dress that complimented her long silver hair and striking golden eyes, while Nagisa had on a red dress with pearls.

"Hikari, you did a really good job putting this ball together," Nagisa remarked.

"Thanks," Hikari replied. "It wasn't all me though. Yaya and Shion helped quite a bit. I don't think I could've gotten everything done if it wasn't for them."

"And Amane, you didn't help out at all?" Shizuma asked.

"I did at first, but I quickly discovered that planning stuff like this really isn't my thing," Amane explained. "In fact both Hikari and I decided that it was best that I just stayed out of it. It was kind of causing some tension between us."

"Well the important thing is that the ball seems to be a pretty big success," Nagisa pointed out.

"It is so far anyway," Hikari replied. "To be honest, I'm kind of afraid something will go wrong. I'm not going to rest easy until it's finally over."

"Oh come on, angel. What could possibly go wrong?" Amane asked.

"Is this a private party, or can anyone join?" a familiar voice asked.

Shizuma and the others looked to see Miyuki standing before them with Tamao. Miyuki had on a dark-blue dress that matched her hair, while Tamao wore a sky-blue dress with a matching ribbon tying back her hair in its usual ponytail.

"Hello Miyuki," Shizuma greeted. "I trust you and Tamao have been enjoying yourselves so far."

"We sure have," Tamao responded.

"It's only a pity that St. Spica doesn't have an actual ball room for this party," Miyuki remarked.

"Yeah, well… I had to make the best with what I had, you know," Hikari responded, her left eye twitching just a bit.

"Think nothing of it, Hikari," Shizuma told her, shooting Miyuki a brief glare as she did so. "You did an exceptional job."

"Uh, yes. This venue turned out perfectly," Miyuki assured her, realizing from Shizuma's look that her criticism had sounded much harsher than she had meant.

"Hey, you know who's been missing from this party?" Amane asked, quickly changing the subject. "That guy, Hiroki."

"Who?" Shizuma asked with a raised eyebrow, oblivious to the way Nagisa had just flinched when Hiroki's name had been mentioned.

"You know, that guy Nagisa dueled when you first arrived on the island," Amane reminded her.

"Hiroki… Hiroki… ah! That kid with The Grand Jupiter," Shizuma finally recalled. "Come to think of it, he was an old school friend of yours, right Nagisa?"

"Yeah. That's him," Nagisa answered with a sigh. "Come to think of it though, I haven't seen Hiroki at all since we dueled that day. I wonder what he's been doing?"

"Hey guys," another familiar voice spoke. Shizuma and the others looked to see Jaden approaching with Alexis.

"Hi Jaden!" Hikari responded. "Have you and Alexis been enjoying yourselves?"

"Mostly," Jaden answered with a troubled expression.

"Is something wrong?" Tamao asked.

"Lex and I tried talking to Pegasus about something that might be going on here at the festival," Jaden explained. "You guys may not have realized it, but all of the Legendary Planet cards are here together on the island."

Shizuma blinked in surprise, as did the others. "I did notice that there were a lot of duelists here who had some of the other Legendary Planets, but I didn't know that all of them were."

"Do you guys think it means anything?" Nagisa asked.

"We don't know for sure, but all of the cards being here together on the island seems like too big of a coincidence," Alexis answered. "Jaden and I tried asking Mr. Pegasus about it earlier, but he claimed not to know anything about it."

"Of course we're pretty sure he was lying," Jaden added. "And now he's just ducking us."

"Do you think all this means that there's some new danger to the island?" Miyuki asked.

"Honestly, we don't know what it means," Jaden answered. "But Lex and I are sure that Pegasus is up to something."

"Well, well. What do we have here?" a familiar voice cut it. The group looked to see David approaching them in a black dress version of his Duel Academy America uniform. "How convenient that everyone I have a score to settle with on this island is right here in one spot."

"Back off, Rabb!" Jaden shot back. "We're in no mood to deal with any of your crap right now."

"And this isn't the proper place to settle an old score either," Shizuma added. "This is an official Astraea Island function, and as a former Etoile I will not permit anyone like you to disrupt it."

"Of course I wouldn't mind beating you to a pulp right now," Amane admitted. "After what you put Hikari though earlier, you've got a lot to answer for."

"No, no. You're right. I can see that this isn't the time or place to throw down," David told them. "I just wanted to remind you all that I'm still gunning for you, so don't let your guard down."

With that, David calmly walked off with his hands folded behind his back. Jaden and the others breathed a heavy sigh of relief as soon as he was gone.

"To think that someone like him is an honored guest for the Founders Festival," Miyuki spoke with a look of disgust.

"If he didn't have one of the Legendary Planets, chances are we wouldn't be dealing with him at all right now," Jaden pointed out.

"Or with Hiroki," Nagisa quietly added.

"Who?" Shizuma asked he with a raised eyebrow.

* * *

It wasn't too long after everyone had finally arrived before a dance started up. Many of the couples attending got onto the dance floor, including Jaden and Alexis. While dancing didn't seem to be one of Jaden's strongpoints, he seemed to perform well enough to satisfy Alexis. Meanwhile Nagisa and Shziuma had danced divinely with one another, and many who had been attending couldn't help but watch the beauty of their waltz. The way they moved together in such sync made it obvious to others how perfect they were for each other.

The one who seemed to be getting the most joy out of the dance though was Erica. So far the evening had been as perfect as she had envisioned. Akane was turning out to be the woman of her dreams. After the fifth or sixth dance, Erica and Akane had decided to get out of the gym for some fresh air.

"You having fun?" Akane asked.

"You bet," Erica answered. "This is the happiest I've ever been."

Akane gently took Erica's hand and kissed the back of it, causing the young girl to blush. "Hey, do you wanna ditch this place and go somewhere where we can be alone?"

Erica's face turned an even deeper shade of red. "Uh… sure. That'd be great."

With that, Akane led Erica by the hand away from the gym and off in a direction towards the beach.

* * *

Inside the gym, Lena had just gotten another glass of punch. With the ball seeming to be about over though, she decided that it was finally time for her to leave. As she headed for the door though, Atticus bumped into her and caused her to splash the entire contents of her glass onto her dress.

"Oh crap! Sorry!" an alarmed Atticus told her.

"You… dumb bastard!" an outraged Lena cursed.

"Hey! I said I was sorry," Atticus repeated, raising his hands defensively. "Look, I'm sure that lovely dress of yours can be cleaned with no problem."

"I don't give a damn about this stupid dress!" Lena told him. "Hell, having to wear this stupid rag is one of the worst things about having to attend this damn ball! What ticks me off is having to deal with a dumbass like you!"

"What exactly did I do to get you so mad at me?" Atticus asked.

"Oh… you've done enough," Lena responded as she reached into the oversized blue bag she had been carrying with her since the start of the ball.

In moments, Lena pulled her duel disk out of the bag and placed it on her arm. By that time, practically everyone in the gym had gathered around to watch the unfolding spectacle, including Reggie, Jaden and Alexis.

Atticus simply smiled and shook his head. "Hey Mac! You wanna grab my duel disk for me?"

"Sure," Reggie replied before going back to their table. In moments, she returned with Atticus's duel disk, which she handed to him.

"Uh… uh… isn't there some other way for the two of you to work out whatever all this is?" a panicking Hikari asked. "Maybe you could both wait and duel tomorrow morning."

"Sorry Ms. Hikari, but I think we're already far past all that," Atticus told her as he put on his duel disk. "Aren't we, Ms. Rogers?"

"You bet your damn ass!" Lena practically shouted. "Now let's do this!"

With that, Lena and Atticus both activated their duel disks and drew their opening hands.

Alexis meanwhile groaned and put her hand over her eyes. "Hey Mac, any idea what my brother did to tick Lena off?"

"Not a clue," Reggie answered. "She certainly isn't one of Rhodie's ex-girlfriends. If she was, they'd probably be laughing and chatting about old times. Hell, he and I ended up having a threesome with the last of his exes we bumped into."

"Oh…" Alexis responded. Her eyes then widened in total surprise. "Wait, what?"

"Well, the three of all got a bit drunk, and… you probably wouldn't want to hear the rest." Reggie told her.

"Lexie, you have no room to judge," Yubel told Alexis as she appeared behind her.

"Since I'm the one who's been challenged, I'll be going first," Atticus declared as he drew his first card. "I discard a Dark monster from my hand to special summon Dark Grepher in Defense Mode!"

Materializing on Atticus's side of the field in a kneeling position was a muscular warrior with dark-grey skin, white hair, and glowing red eyes. He had on a sort of black stocking on around his head, and rows of brown spikes growing from the sides of his neck. Black armor with what looked like red eyes and a vertical mouth full of sharp fangs covered the lower half of his torso, and attached to this armor were two black straps covered in spikes that went over the warrior's shoulders like overalls. He also had on long black pants with brown spikes growing down the sides of his legs, and hanging from his neck by a chain was a small white human skull. Black manacles covered his wrists, and in his right hand he carried a sword with a black handle and guard and a purple blade.

"I set one card on the field and end my turn," Atticus announced.

"Hey Mac, what kind of deck is Atticus using?" Jaden asked. "I've never seen him use that monster before."

"Well he took the deck he used while he was possessed by that Nightshroud thing and sort of revamped it," Reggie answered.

"Is that safe?" Alexis asked with a look of concern.

"It shouldn't be a problem," Jaden assured her. "Nightshroud's dead, which means Atticus is in no danger of being controlled by him."

Lena drew her first card. "I play the Spell card, Ancient Rules and special summon Spiral Serpent from my hand!"

Appearing behind Lena was a gigantic light-blue creature resembling an aquatic dinosaur. It had a long neck ending in a slender head resembling that of a prehistoric fish or eel, with sapphire eyes a mouth containing long sharp fangs and a purple tongue. It had two blade-like horns on the top of its head, and a third blade growing from the undersides of its jaw. Two very small purple fins grew from the sides of its head. A pair of much larger purple fins grew from its shoulders, and there was a third growing from its stomach from between its hind fins.

"Spiral Serpent! Wash Dark Grepher off the field!" Lena commanded. "Spiral Torrent!"

The sea monster opened its jaws and blasted Dark Grepher with a powerful blast of water. Atticus's dark warrior shattered into particles of gold light upon being hit.

"I set one card on the field and end my turn!" Lena announced.

Atticus drew his next card. "First I activate Pot of Greed and draw two more cards. Then I summoned Gearfried the Red-Eyes Iron Knight in Attack Mode!"

Materializing on Atticus's field was a warrior clad from head to toe in thick black armor that made him look almost like a robot. Parts of his armor were decorated with glittering silver trim along the edges. He had piercing red eyes, and the joints of his shoulders, elbows, hips, knees and ankles appeared to be red crystal spheres. Attached to his right forearm was a large black blade with a silver edge, while attached to his left forearm was a black and silver shield with a line of red gems decorating the front down the middle.

"I equip Gearfried with Axe of Despair, raising his ATK by 1000!" Atticus announced.

Appearing in Gearfried's right hand was a large axe with a twisted wooden handle. The axe gave off a sinister red aura that spread all over the knight's body.

"But now I activate Gearfried's effect!" Atticus announced. "When either player has equipped Gearfried with one or more Equip cards, I can destroy those cards to get rid of one Spell or Trap my opponent controls! I destroy Axe of Despair to get rid of that face-down card of yours!"

Gearfried kneeled down and slammed the axe in his hand to the ground. The axe shattered into particles of gold light and the evil aura coming from his body had vanished. At the same time though, a surge of red lightning traveled across the ground from the spot where the knight had slammed the axe blade and struck Lena's facedown card, causing it to shatter into particles of gold light.

"Now I equip Gearfried with Lightning Blade, raising his ATK by 800!" Atticus announced.

Materializing in the knight's hand was an ornate sword with a large blade that was wide at the top. The blade began to spark with small bolts of electricity.

"I get it. Trying to weaken my Water monsters, huh?" Lena assumed.

"True, Lightning Blade is one of the best weapons to use against a deck like yours," Atticus admitted. "But I didn't equip Gearfried with this card just to power him up. I activate Gearfried's other effect and send Lighting Blade to the Graveyard to summon the monster I discarded earlier to bring out Dark Grepher! Rise up, Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

Gearfried stabbed the blade of his sword into the ground, causing it to shatter into particles of red light. Soon after, a large red portal appeared in the ground next to Gearfried. Flying out of the red hole was a large dragon with a slender body covered in black scales, and a long tail. It had frightening red eyes, and a pair of small horns at the top of its head. On its back was a pair of massive black wings.

"Now I activate Polymerization!" Atticus announced. "With this card I fuse Red-Eyes and Gearfried together to summon Red-Eyes Slash Dragon!"

A transparent vortex appeared in the air above the field, and both Red-Eyes and Gearfried flew up into it. A few seconds later, Red-Eyes flew out of the vortex in a new form. Much of his body was covered in the same kind of armor that Gearfried had worn. The joints of the dragon's shoulders, elbows and wrists had become red crystalline spheres, as did the joints of his hips, knees and ankles. Long curved spikes covered the dragon's knees, and on each forearm was a large black blade with a silver edge.

"Whoa! I've never seen a Red-Eyes Fusion like that before," an impressed Jaden spoke.

"I attack Spiral Serpent with Slash Dragon!" Atticus announced.

"You're dumber than I thought!" Lena declared. "Or maybe you're just not paying attention! In case you didn't notice, my Spiral Serpent has an ATK of 2900, while your fancy armored dragon only has 2800 ATK! This is one battle you won't win!"

"Guess again, because I activate Slash Dragon's effect!" Atticus announced. "When a Red-Eyes monster declares an attack, I can equip Slash Dragon with a Warrior monster from my Graveyard as an Equip card that boosts Slash Dragon's ATK by 200! I use this effect to equip Slash Dragon with Gearfried!"

Suddenly Gearfried appeared on Slash Dragon's back with a crackling flash of crimson light.

"Slash Dragon, blow Spiral Serpent away!" Atticus ordered. "Dark War Flare!"

Slash Dragon opened his jaws and fired a stream of black and crimson flames at Lena's monster. The attack struck Spiral Serpent in the face and caused it to shatter into particles of red light. Lena's life points took a slight drop to 3900.

"Okay. That dragon of yours isn't that bad," Lena admitted. "But it'll take more than that to finish me!"

"Oh, I'm not done. I activate my face-down card, the Quick-Play Spell known as Red-Eyes Rampage!" Atticus announced. "When a level seven or higher Red-Eyes monster I control destroys a monster in battle, Red-Eyes Rampage lets that monster make a second attack this turn! I use Slash Dragon to attack you directly! And because Slash Dragon has declared an attack, I use his effect to equip him with Dark Grepher to raise his ATK by another 200 points!"

Dark Grepher appeared on Slash Dragon's back behind Gearfried with a flash of crimson light. Soon after, Slash Dragon opened his jaws and blasted Lena with a stream of red and black flames. Lena attempted to shield herself with her arms, but the attack still dropped her life points to a mere 700.

"That ends my turn," Atticus announced.

Lena glared at Atticus as she drew her next card. "Now you're really gonna get it. First I activate Card of Sanctity, allowing us both to draw cards until we each have six cards in our hands! Next I activate Swing of Memories to summon Spiral Serpent back from the Graveyard!"

Spiral Serpent reappeared behind Lena with a flash of white light.

"Next I summon Mermaid Knight in Attack Mode!" Lena announced.

Appearing on Lena's side of the field was a mermaid with long red hair and a green tail. Her chest was covered in blue and gold armor. Attached to her left arm was a silver shield, and in her right hand was a sword with a transparent rainbow blade.

"I activate the Spell card, Tribute Carnival, allowing me to perform an extra tribute summon this turn!" Lena announced. "I sacrifice Spiral Serpent and Mermaid Knight to summon The Tyrant Neptune!"

Lena's two monsters shattered to bits and a pillar of blue light shot up from behind the blunette. After a moment, the light faded to reveal a large reptilian monster. Its body was similar to that of a centaur, with its lower half being the body of a crocodile. Silver armor covered the creature's torso, shoulders, wrists, as well as its waist and the back of its lower crocodilian body. In both hands, the beast wielded a massive scythe. Its lizard head was shadowy and had long strands of hair on the back and glowing yellow eyes.

"There it is. Lena's strongest monster," Jaden identified.

"Get ready, Atticus Rhodes!" Lena spoke. "I'm about to make you pay for the humiliation you put me through!"

On the sidelines, Hikari let out a heavy sigh. "This ball is a disaster!"

* * *

 **Author's Note:** So from Hikari's perspective, the ball that she worked so hard to prepare has gone as catastrophically wrong as a Frasier Crane dinner party (those familiar with the hit sitcom _Frasier_ know what I'm talking about). Anyway, I hope that everyone enjoyed this chapter. Honestly, I feel like I probably could've done better with it. A large part of what had me stuck was how to show the dance that would be part of this ball, or if I should show it at all. In the end, I kind of wimped out and only mentioned the dance in passing. At the time, I felt like there were too many other things happening in the chapter that it'd probably be best if I just skimmed over the dance. Plus I had just never written a dance in a story before and it was driving me mad trying to figure out how. Of course a major part of the problem may have been that I was overthinking things.

Of course one of the other big challenges with this chapter and the next was writing the duel. For one thing, I had kind of a hard time figuring out what deck Atticus should use, and at this time I'd like to thank my friend, Firebolt the Blazing Saint for convincing me to have Atticus use a variant of his Red-Eyes deck. Anyway, as I was finishing this chapter, I realize that I had made a couple of small errors with the outline for the duel, one of which regarded the card Atticus had set at the start of the duel. Originally I was going to have Atticus use Red-Eyes Fang with Chain to make it possible for Slash Dragon to attack twice, but then earlier as I was writing the chapter, I noticed that I had originally misread Fang with Chain's effect (the card only lets the equipped monster make two attacks on other monsters). So on the fly, I had to come up with this Quick-Play card.

 **Red-Eyes Rampage**

Quick-Play Spell

Activate when a Level 7 or higher "Red-Eyes" monster you control destroys a monster by battle: That monster can make a second attack this turn.

Not the most original card I've come up with, but it didn't seem like there was time to come up with anything better. Well, I apologize yet again for taking so long to get this chapter up. Recently I've had a couple of reviewers asking me what the hell was taking me so long with it. I should probably mention though that updates to this story from this point on will probably be a little slower than they used to be, at least for a while. I don't know if I'll have the next chapter up by next week, but I can assure you all that it'll take me less than a month to finish. Part of it will depend on what my work schedule for next week looks like, plus I'm still grappling with some depression at the moment.

So until next time, please review and let me know what you think.


	12. The Founders Ball, Part 2

**Author's Note:** Well, looks like I was able to deliver this chapter within a week after all. So without further delay, here's the exciting conclusion to the Astraea Island Founders Ball.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.

* * *

Chapter 11: The Founders Ball, Part 2

"Neptune gains the total ATK of the monsters sacrificed to summon him to the field," Lena announced. "So right now, his ATK is at 4400. Not only that, I can have Neptune gain the name and effect of one of the monsters used for one of his tributes. I have Neptune gain the effect of Mermaid Knight!"

"Not bad. Mermaid Knight's effect lets her make two attacks," Atticus recalled. "Of course that's only while the Field Spell, Umi is in play."

"Oh yeah, almost forgot. I activate the Field Spell, A Legendary Ocean!" Lena announced.

In a flashed, the entire interior of the gym transformed into a vast and ancient-looking city with buildings made of white marble and included Roman pillars in their architecture. The entire city was submerged deep underwater, with small schools of fish swimming around in the distance.

"Not only does A Legendary Ocean boost Neptune's ATK to 4600, it's also treated as Umi, which means Neptune can attack twice!" Lena announced. "Neptune! Cut that dragon to ribbons! Sickle of Ruin!"

Neptune raises his scythe in the air and swung down hard. The blade cut Slash Dragon down the middle, and the two halves shattered into particles of gold light. Gearfried and Dark Grepher had managed to survive the attack at the last second by jumping off Slash Dragon's back and landed on Atticus's side of the field in a kneeling position. Meanwhile, Atticus's life points had dropped down to 1400.

"When Slash Dragon has been destroyed, I can summon the monsters equipped to him back to my field in Defense Mode!" Atticus announced.

"Yeah? Well you're about to lose at least one!" Lena declared. "Neptune, destroy Gearfried! Sickle of Ruin!"

The lizard monster raised his scythe in the air again and swung down his blade on Gearfried. The iron knight was instantly cut in half and shattered into particles of gold light.

Alexis breathed a sigh of relief. "It's a good thing Slash Dragon had that extra effect to summon its riders back to the field as shields. Otherwise Atticus would've been finished."

"I'd still like to know why Lena is so mad at Atticus," Jaden remarked. "Mac, are you sure you don't know what Lena's problem is?"

"Rhodie and I never met that girl until we came here to the island," Reggie answered. "In fact I'd have thought you'd know, Jaden. I mean, isn't Rogers a friend of yours?"

"Well I don't actually know her that well," Jaden admitted. "I mean I only met her the one time."

"I set one card on the field and end my turn!" Lena announced.

Atticus moved to draw his next card, but then hesitated. "Before we continue, I'd like to know one thing. What the hell did I ever do to make you so mad at me?"

Lena's left eye twitched. "Do you remember when you competed in the Ridge Mountain Tournament one year ago?"

"Yeah, I recall that," Atticus answered. "Not one of my finest moments. I lost in the final round. Wait, you weren't one of the opponents I beat in one of the earlier rounds, were you?"

"No, but because you choked during that final damn match, I lost a bet!" Lena told him.

"Wait, what?" Atticus asked as he blinked in surprised.

"Hey Lena!" Jaden called. "Are you seriously mad at Atticus just because you lost money on one of his duels?"

"Not that it's really any of your business, Jaden. But I lost something more important than money," Lena told him. "This was about my dignity!"

"Oh boy. I think I kind of know where this is going," Yubel spoke as she appeared behind Jaden.

"It all started one day when I was at this restaurant while out on the road," Lena began. "They were showing the Ridge Mountain Tournament on T.V. While I was there, I ended up running into an old and obnoxious rival of mine, and by some weird coincidence the guy competing in the final round of the tournament against Rhodes was my rival's older brother. Things were said, and the next thing I knew, we had made a wager over who was going to win the final round of the duel. I was pretty confident that Rhodes could win, but then during the last turn he choked and lost the whole damn thing!"

"Hey. It was a bad draw," Atticus shrugged. "It happens sometimes."

"Well because of that damn bad draw of yours, I lost my bet and had to play in my next tournament wearing a frilly pink dress and a tiara!" Lena revealed. "And I had to carry a fairy wand and tie my hair into pigtails! It totally trashed my image! I'm the Pirate Queen, not the damn fairy queen! It was months before people finally forgot about that stupid outfit! And worst of all, I lost the damn tournament to my rival!"

"Uh… wow! That does sound kinda rough," Atticus admitted as he rubbed the back of his head. "But hey. You didn't have to make some bet on my duel."

"Oh this isn't just about the bet, Rhodes," Lena told him. "It's your whole attitude as a duelist that pisses me off! I got a pretty good idea about the kind of duelist you are just from watching that match of yours. You're one of those duelists who never take the game seriously at all; who doesn't mind if people think of you as a joke. That deck you used in that tournament proves that! I'll admit that the deck you're using right now seems to be an improvement, but you're still just a joke. Duelists like you make me sick."

"You know… you do have a point," Atticus admitted as he drew his next card. "Sometimes I don't take my duels as seriously as I should. But I am still a pro, and I'm about to show you just how strong I really am. First I activate Monster Reborn and summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon from the Graveyard!"

With a flash of white light, Red-Eyes reappeared on the field with a roar.

"Now I play the Spell card, Silver Skull Ritual!" Atticus announced.

Four long silver torches burning with greenish flames appeared around Red-Eyes. The top of each torch was sculpted to look like the skull of a dragon with large curved horns.

"Ordinarily, I'd have to sacrifice monsters whose total levels equal ten or more to use this Ritual Spell," Atticus continued. "But I can also use Red-Eyes Black Dragon as the entire tribute! So I sacrifice Red-Eyes to summon Silver Skull Dragon!"

All four torches blasted Red-Eyes with streams of greenish flame, enveloping the dragon's body totally in otherworldly fire. After a few moments though, the flames died away to reveal the dragon in a new form. His black scales had turned to glistening silver, and a hardened dark-grey ribcage had appeared around his torso. His head had turned silver and more skull-like, and growing from the sides of his head were two large curved dark-grey horns. On its back was a large pair of axe-like wings, and the end of his tail was tipped with a sharp dark-grey spear tip.

"Wow! Rhodie really is taking this seriously," Reggie observed. "That's one of the strongest monsters in his deck right now."

"When Silver Skull Dragon has been summoned using a Red-Eyes monster as a tribute, his ATK rises from 3200 to 4200!" Atticus continued. "I activate Silver Skull Dragon's effect! By sacrificing one of my Dark monsters, Silver Skull Dragon can negate the effects of one of my opponent's monsters! I sacrifice Dark Grepher to negate Neptune's effects!"

Silver Skull Dragon swung his tail and pierced Dark Grepher in the back with blade on its tip. Dark Grepher grimaced before shattering into particles of gold light. Soon after, the dragon shot beams of crimson light from his red eyes that struck Neptune in the chest. Neptune's body glowed briefly with a red aura before turning almost completely grey.

"Not only did Neptune lose the effect he got from Mermaid Knight, he also lost the ATK and DEF he gained from the monsters used to summon him," Jaden observed. "Atticus brought out the perfect monster to counter Lena."

"I can't believe that my brother's become so powerful," an impressed Alexis remarked.

"He's not only become more powerful. He's really made Nightshroud's cards his own," Jaden added.

"Looks like Lena has had it," Shizuma observed. "Now that Neptune's ATK is at zero, the attack from that dragon is more than enough to finish her off."

"Silver Skull Dragon! Blow Neptune out of the water!" Atticus commanded. "Quicksilver Meteor!"

The dragon opened his jaws and breathed out a silvery meteor-like rock covered in blue flames across the battlefield. Just as the attack was about to reach its target though, Neptune became enveloped in a pillar of bubbles that shot up from the ground. The meteor entered the pillar, and the flames around it went out before it crumbled to dust. The pillar of bubbles subsided and Lena's life points were untouched.

"What the hell just happened?" a surprised Atticus asked.

"I activates my Trap card, Offering to Poseidon," Lena explained. "This card lets me negate an enemy attack by sacrificing a Water monster I control. Then, if the monster I sacrificed using this effect was level five or higher, I can draw two cards."

"Not bad," Atticus praised. "Well then in that case, I set one card on the field and end my turn."

Lena drew her next card. "First I activate the Spell card, Salvage and return both Neptune and Mermaid Knight to my hand! Then I activate Card of Demise to draw more cards! And now I play a Ritual Spell of my own, Turtle Oath! With this card, I sacrifice Levia-Dragon Daedalus and Mermaid Knight from my hand to summon Crab Turtle!"

Mermaid Knight reappeared on the field behind Lena, along with a gigantic light blue sea serpent with four red eyes, a red fin running down the length of its back, and a green gem embedded in the thick crest covering its forehead. Appearing behind both monsters was a large green turtle shell with a thick rope tied around it in a ceremonial fashion. Hanging from the front of the rope were three long paper ornaments. Two bolts of lightning shot from the floating shell and vaporized both of Lena's monsters. Another more massive bolt of lighting came down from above and struck the shell, creating a blinding flash.

The light faded, and standing behind Lena was a very large bipedal monster with a mostly red crab-like body. Its head was a single monstrous yellow eye and its arms were the red arms of a crab. The creature's lower legs were green, and on its back was a green shell with two red crab legs on each side.

"Now I'm about to show you my ultimate combo, Neptune's Wrath!" Lena announced. "First I activate Monster Reborn and summon Levia-Dragon Daedalus back to the field!"

The giant sea serpent that had been sacrificed to summon Crab Turtle reappeared with a flash of white light.

"Now I sacrifice both Daedalus and Crab Turtle to summon The Tyrant Neptune in Attack Mode!" Lena announced.

Both sea monsters shattered into particles of gold light as a massive whirlpool suddenly surrounded them. In seconds the whirlpool subsided to reveal Neptune.

"Well, looks like Atticus has had it," Yubel remarked to Jaden and Alexis. "He put up a good fight though."

"Neptune now has the total ATK of both Daedalus and Crab Turtle," Lena continued. "Add the 200 point boost from A Legendary Ocean, and that brings his ATK up to 5350. Not that it matters though, because I choose to give Neptune the effect of Daedalus, which I now activate! By sacrificing Umi, Neptune can destroy all other cards on the field!"

Neptune raised his scythe high into the air and swung it down with all his strength towards the ground. Massive fissures formed where the blade penetrated the earth, and suddenly a massive blast of water and air erupted from beneath, washing everything out in a massive storm. When the storm faded, the inside of the gym had returned to normal, but Neptune was the only card left on the field.

"Neptune, attack Atticus directly and end this!" Lena commanded. "Sickle of Ruin!"

Neptune roared and moved forward before slashing Atticus across the chest with his blade. Atticus's life points dropped to zero from the attack, and with the duel at an end, Neptune vanished from the field.

"Well, you really got me good," Atticus declared as he rubbed the back of his head. "I really had you there for a minute though."

"Yeah… you really did," Lena admitted. "Guess you're not quite as bad of a duelist as I first thought." She let out a heavy sigh. "Man, I'm tired of this party. I'm outta here."

With that, Lena headed for a door by a set of bleachers. As she came near, Axel was leaning against the bleachers with his arms crossed.

"You gave quite the performance," Axel remarked as Lena reached the door. "Remind me never to get on your bad side."

"Thanks," Lena responded. "Of course the truth is I only use the Neptune's Wrath combo when I'm really on the ropes. That guy was one of the toughest opponents I've ever faced. So it makes it even more infuriating that he lost that damn tournament. Dammit!"

"You know… this party seems to be winding down," Axel observed. "Wanna go get a bite to eat somewhere?"

"Sure. What the hell," Lena agreed.

As the two left, everyone else was talking all about the duel between Lena and Atticus. Meanwhile, a distressed Hikari was sitting at one of the tables with Jaden and the others.

"I can't believe it," Hikari spoke. "The classy ball I worked so hard on… ruined by a street fight of a duel. It might as well been turned into a bar fight."

"C'mon angel, don't be so hard on yourself," Amane told her as she put a reassuring hand on the blonde's shoulder.

"Yeah Hikari. In fact I think everyone here had a good time," Jaden told her.

"Lena and Alexis's brother did put on quite the show," Tamao admitted.

"Oh sure. All the students may have enjoyed watching the duel, but what about the faculty?" Hikari pointed out. "They were all counting on this ball being a refined and dignified function."

At that moment, Pegasus came over to the table with Principal Mackenzie. "Ah! There you are, Ms. Hikari! I just wanted to tell you that the faculty and I had a marvelous time here tonight."

"Indeed. You did a very fine job putting this all together," Principal Mackenzie praised.

Hikari blinked in surprise at their words. "But… but that duel…"

"Truly an outstanding performance," Pegasus told her. "I know you didn't have anything like that planned, but it was one of the highlights of the evening. This ball was truly perfect! Well, I should be going. I'm sure I'll see you all later."

With that, both Pegasus and Principal Mackenzie left. As soon as they were gone, Hikari swooned and Amane had to move to keep her head from hitting the table.

"Okay, I think I better get her home before she turns completely into a pumpkin," Amane decided. "We'll see you both later."

Amane then began to guide a very dazed Hikari towards one of the doors out of the gym.

"Looks like this party's starting to break up," Alexis observed. "I think we should head back too."

"Good idea," Jaden agreed. "I gotta say though, I had more fun here tonight than I thought I would."

* * *

Akane and Erica had been walking along the beach for what seemed like hours. Erica had been the one doing most of the talking, telling Akane about what things for her have been like since coming to Spica and how much she's enjoyed being at the academy. Akane had only been half listening to her, but she realized that she was becoming very fond Erica. Being around her somehow put Akane at ease.

"…But you know… the main reason why I came to this academy is because I thought I'd find true love here," Erica continued. "And… I think I may have found it with you, Akane. You've been constantly on my mind ever since that day we bumped into each other by the lake. Even though we barely know each other Akane, I've fallen head over heels in love with you."

Akane was stunned by Erica's sudden confession. "I… I think I may be in love with you too, Erica. I mean I'm not positive about it, but… you're the first girl I've been drawn to in such a long time."

The two of them gazed into one another's eyes for what seemed almost like an eternity. The only sound that could be heard was the gentle noise of the waves hitting the beach. Slowly they moved towards each other and were about to kiss, when suddenly Akane froze. There in the distance down the beach in the moonlight was the old lighthouse, the one that had been her and Mahiro's favorite place. In that instant Akane suddenly felt like she was betraying Mahiro's memory, almost as if Mahiro was looking down at her from the top of the lighthouse with an accusing stare.

At the last second, Akane pulled away. "No… this is wrong."

"Akane?" Erica responded.

"Leave. Get out of here, now," Akane ordered.

"What're you…" Erica began to ask, when suddenly Akane slapped her in the face and knocked her to the ground.

"I said go, you dumb bitch!" Akane shouted. "Get out of my sight!"

Totally stunned, Erica finally got back to her feet. She began to walk back towards the dorms, and then after a few moments broke into a run. Akane merely stood and watched her leave. After a few moments she wondered what had even gotten into her. Eventually Akane let out a heavy sigh and began to head for the dorms as well.

* * *

Keiko had just finished changing for bed when the door to the room opened and Erica walked in. She was so preoccupied with her own mood that she hardly noticed the look on Erica's face.

"Hey there, roomie," Keiko greeted. "You know, you missed quite the show after you and Akane left. So tell me, how'd it go with Akane?"

"She… hates me," Erica softly spoke, surprising her. "She called me a bitch and told me to leave."

Before Keiko could ask her to repeat what she had just said, Erica ran to her crying and wrapped her arms around her. All Keiko could do was hold Erica as she sobbed into her chest.

"Dammit," Keiko softly cursed. "Looks like Akane Tsukasa and I need to have a little chat."

* * *

Akane returned to her room and flopped onto her bed, still fully dressed. As she stared up at the ceiling, she started replaying her last conversation with Erica over and over again in her mind. The more rational part of her couldn't believe what she had done; had slapped Erica and said those things to her. Akane began to wonder if she should go to Erica in the morning and talk to her when she suddenly felt something calling to her. Unconsciously she reached into her pocket and pulled out the card for The Invader X. The card was glowing with a sinister light, and as Akane looked at it, her eyes began to glow as well.

"I don't need that girl," Akane whispered. "I have all that I need right here… the only thing I need to remake the world."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** One of the things I was really stuck regarding this chapter, and by extending the previous one, was the reason why Lena was so furious with Atticus. That was something I had never firmly figured out during the outline stage of the story. In the end, I decided it might be more interesting and perhaps a little amusing if it turned out that Atticus had done something to earn Lena's wrath without having actually had met her. Anyway, here are the three cards I had made up for the second half of this duel. First we have the two new cards belonging to Atticus.

 **Silver Skull Ritual**

Ritual Spell

This card is uses to Ritual Summon "Silver Skull Dragon". You must also Tribute monsters from your hand or field whose total levels equal 10 or more. You can also use 1 Dragon-Type "Red-Eyes" monster as the entire tribute.

 **Silver Skull Dragon**

DARK/Dragon/Ritual/Effect/10/ATK 3200/DEF 2900

You can Ritual Summon this card with "Silver Skull Ritual". Once per turn: You can tribute 1 DARK monster you control, then target 1 Effect Monster on your opponent's side of the field; negate the effects of that monster. If this card was Ritual Summoned using a "Red-Eyes" monster as tribute, it gains 1000 ATK.

Silver Skull Dragon is basically just a Ritual Monster version of the original Black Skull Dragon. The reason the card is a Ritual Monster is simply because I like Ritual Monsters in general, as many of my regular readers know very well. And now we come to the card used by Lena.

 **Offering to Poseidon**

Trap Card

Activate when your opponent's monster declares an attack: Tribute 1 WATER monster you control to negate that attack. Then, if the monster used as Tribute to activate this effect was Level 5 or higher, draw 2 cards.

This was a card I came up with on the fly mainly to keep Lena from losing the duel and to replenish her hand at least a little. One of the problems I had during the outline stage of the duel was that her handed emptied out pretty quickly.

So I hope everyone enjoyed this latest chapter. Unfortunately it may be a few weeks before the next chapter is up. I've been having a bit of trouble figuring out the next duel for the chapter, and my recent anxiety issues haven't been helping. I'll try to have the next chapter up before the end of the month though. Until next time, please stay tuned.

In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.


	13. The Invader Awakens

**Author's Note:** I was really starting to worry that I wouldn't be able to get this chapter up before the end of the month like I said I would. The reason it took me so long to get this chapter done is because I was having a pretty hard time figuring out the duel we're about to see, but I'll get into that later. For now, let's continue on with our story.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX or Strawberry Panic.

* * *

Chapter 12: The Invader Awakens

 _The sky was covered by thick grey clouds, except for a massive hole that had been torn in the middle showing a swirling white vortex in the middle of a sea of stars, almost as if something had ripped open the roof of the world. Thunder rumbled and there were occasional flashes of lighting, especially around the edges of the hole. Akane was walking under this broken sky along the grounds of Miator looking for something. Just what she was looking for, she did not know. All she knew for certain was that there was something calling to her on the grounds._

 _As Akane wandered, she noticed how the building for Miator was in ruins. Windows were shattered, giant holes had been broken into the roof and the walls, and strange vines with odd multicolored flowers covered the walls. Meanwhile scattered in spots on the ground around her were skeletons dressed in Miator uniforms. Akane paid little attention to all this though. All that were around her were the remains of the old world that had been destroyed in order to give rise to a new and much more glorious one._

 _Akane continued to walk aimlessly until she saw a white shape dash out of the nearby trees. Whatever it was galloped away in the direction of the Miator greenhouse. Akane chased after the white creature, knowing somehow that it was the thing she had been searching for. She had quickly lost sight of the white phantom, but Akane somehow knew that she would find it in the greenhouse. It was after all where the thing seemed to want her to go._

 _It did not take long for Akane to reach the greenhouse. The glass walls of the structure were shattered and covered in the same strange flowering vines that had been covering the school. The doors of the greenhouse were open and broken off the hinges, allowing Akane easy access. Inside the greenhouse, the plants that had been in there had not only survived the catastrophe that had transformed the world, it had caused them to thrive and take on strange new forms. Many of them had become like trees and had sprouted flowers that they were never meant to originally have. The greenhouse had become like a miniature forest._

 _As Akane got deeper and deeper in, she saw a silvery light coming from the very heart of the forest. Akane went straight towards the light, and as she did, the air around her seemed to get colder. Then at last Akane reached the center of the greenhouse and the source of the light. The light was coming from a large plant that grew at least two feet high. Its stem was a sickly grey, with ash-grey leaves on the sides covered in strange white spots. At the top of the plant was the blue bud of a large flower. Cautiously Akane got closer, and suddenly the flower at the top of the plant blossomed to reveal a strange red eye that seemed to look directly into Akane's soul._

 _Suddenly a creature emerged from the trees inside the greenhouse, and Akane knew that it was the creature that had led her to the greenhouse. The beast in question was a large deer, a buck. The left side of his body was covered in white fur. His left eye was a deep blue, and pink flowers similar to cherry blossoms grew from his left antler. The right side of the deer's body though was covered in grey matted fur like that of an animal had been dead for weeks. There also seemed to be several holes that had rotted into the right side of his body, showing the bone and decaying flesh within. In fact the right side of his head had almost totally rotted away to the skull, with an antler like the branch of a dead tree growing from the top, and an unearthly red light glowing within the eye socket._

 _Akane stood frozen in awe of the creature. It looked so beautiful and yet so horrifying at the same time. Suddenly the thing came closer to Akane and leaned in its head as if to sniff her. Cautiously, Akane reached up and touched the right side of the deer's face, and as soon as she did there was a blinding flash of light._

* * *

Akane's eyes snapped open and she found herself gazing at the ceiling. She sat up and wiped the sweat from her brow. Of all the dreams she had been having lately, this newest one was the strangest yet. Akane was about to try and go back to sleep when she saw a strange multicolored light emanating from the nightstand. The light was coming from the top of her deck. Akane reached over and wound up drawing the top to cards from her deck that were giving out the light and let out a startled gasp when she took a look at them. They were of the half-dead deer and the strange flower with the eye she had encountered in her dream.

The light from the cards faded as Akane slowly got over the shock of seeing the cards. She had no idea where they could've come from. Very soon though, Akane was overcome by a strange giddiness that seemed to blot out her reason. Akane suddenly didn't care where the cards had come from. All that mattered was that they were two of the keys needed for her to create a new world. Akane flopped back onto the bed with the cards still in her hand, giggling madly to herself.

* * *

It was mid morning as Jaden walked across the grounds of Spica. He had been visiting with Amane and Hikari earlier as they helped supervising taking the Founders Ball decorations down in the gym. As Jaden went off towards the lake to meet with Alexis when he noticed Erica and Keiko sitting on a bench under a tree. He noticed that Erica was crying and went over to see what was wrong.

"Hey you two," Jaden spoke. "Everything okay?"

"No… no it's not," Erica answered as she wiped away her tears. "I've just had my heart ripped out of my chest and torn to pieces."

"Erica's date to the ball last night dumped her," Keiko explained.

"You mean Akane?" Jaden asked.

"I still can't figure out what happened," Erica spoke as she managed to compose herself a bit. "We were getting along so beautifully when… what did I do wrong?"

"Hey! This isn't your fault," Keiko told her. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"But then… why did she reject me like that?" Erica asked. "I don't understand at all!"

At that point, Erica broke down completely. Keiko quickly put an arm around her to try and comfort her.

"Jaden, you mind giving us some space?" Keiko requested.

"Uh… sure. No problem," Jaden replied.

With that, Jaden continued to walk towards the lake. As he left, he couldn't help but think about the reason why Akane had suddenly rejected Erica.

"I know exactly what you're thinking," Yubel spoke as she appeared next to him. "Guess history is repeating itself with Erica and Akane, just like we were afraid it would."

"I wonder if maybe we should tell Erica about Akane's past relationship," Jaden suggested. "It might help her to know why Akane rejected her like that."

"Maybe. Then again, it isn't really our business," Yubel pointed out.

"Isn't it? I'm not so sure myself," Jaden replied. "We both sensed some pretty strange power coming from Akane."

"That's probably all the more reason for us to just stay out of it," Yubel told him. "If Akane does turn out to be a threat like we think she might be, then it's probably best that Erica not get involved with her any more than she has."

"Maybe… then again, I'm not so sure," Jaden responded. "I mean we don't really know the full picture yet. Plus enemy or not, Akane is probably suffering as much as Shizuma once did, and Erica might be just what she needs to end all that."

* * *

It was midafternoon as Akane walked down the hall to her next class in one of the duel arenas. Akane had come to dread her dueling classes a bit because she knew the instructors would try to get her to take part in a duel on stage to demonstrate something to the rest of the class. Ever since Mahiro died, Akane had lost a bit of her enthusiasm for dueling and had become more content to be a spectator. As Akane turned the next corner, she saw Keiko standing in her path with her arms crossed.

"Hey!" Keiko spoke. "I've got a bone to pick with you, Tsukasa."

"You… Keiko Izumi, right?" Akane recalled. "I've seen some of your duels while passing by on campus."

"Yeah, yeah. I didn't come here to chit-chat, ya bitch," Keiko told her as she approached. "I'm here about Erica Muller. She's a friend of mine, you know. And from what I've heard, you hurt her pretty bad last night."

"Did I?" Akane responded with a raised eyebrow. She tried to recall how her date with Erica ended and found that she was drawing a blank. "What did I do exactly?"

Keiko slapped her hard in the face. "You've got some nerve trying to play the innocent act! You know damn well what you did, and I intend to make you pay!"

"Really? And just how do you intend to do that?" Akane asked as she put a hand on her now red cheek.

"A duel! You and me!" Keiko answered. "Right here! Right now! And don't think for a second that I'm afraid of you. You may have a reputation as some elite duelist, but I'm sure I can take you."

Akane was about to tell Keiko to leave when suddenly a strange idea came into her head, as though someone had whispered it into her ear.

"Okay… I'll duel you. But not here," Akane told her. "You know the old abandoned lighthouse on the beach? Meet me there tonight alone, and we'll settle things then."

"Fine," Keiko agreed.

Akane then began to walk past Keiko with a somewhat twisted half-smile on her face, and then she stopped for a moment to whisper something in the pinkette's ear. "You will make a splendid offering to the new world."

After saying that, Akane continued on her way. Keiko looked back at her with a raised eyebrow for a few moments before brushing off Akane's odd comment and continuing on her way to her own class.

* * *

It was just past midnight as Keiko walked down the beach. The moon was high in the sky above and almost completely full, bathing everything in a pale light. It wasn't long before Keiko could see the lighthouse in the distance. After a few more moments she could make out Akane standing in front of the door thanks to the light of the moon. As Keiko came closer and closer to her destination, Keiko felt some sort of strange dread rise up within her. It suddenly occurred to her that there was something very strange about Akane calling her out to the old lighthouse in the middle of the night.

Keiko's sense of dread seemed to evaporate once she finally reached the lighthouse. Once she saw Akane standing before her, the only thing on Keiko's mind was making her opponent pay for what she did to Erica.

"I was starting to wonder if you'd chicken out," Akane remarked.

"Like hell!" Keiko shot back. "You've got way too much to answer for!"

"Mind if I ask you something? Why are you so determined to avenge Erica?" Akane asked.

"I just like her, okay?" Keiko responded. "Not in a romantic way or anything, but in the short time we've known each other, she's really grown on me. Now mind if I ask you something? Why are we dueling at this old place in the middle of the night?"

"Because I'm trying out a new deck, and I don't want anyone to see my new cards until the time is right," Akane answered. "Now, shall we begin?"

"You're on!" Keiko responded.

With that, both of them activated their duel disks and drew their opening hands.

"Since I was the one who was challenged, I shall make the first move," Akane announced as she drew her first card. "I summon Mystical Elf in Defense Mode!"

Materializing on Akane's side of the field was a woman with blue skin and long sparkling hair like spun gold. She was clad in long flowing green robes, and atop her head was a white crown.

"That ends my turn," Akane announced.

Keiko drew her first card. "I summon Amazoness Princess in Attack Mode!"

Appearing on Keiko's side of the field was a young woman with tan skin, green eyes, and long white hair tied back by a red and yellow helmet with short curved horns on the sides. Red markings decorated her face, and around her neck was a red beaded necklace with three white fangs attached to it. Covering her chest was a red and yellow top with a small horned skull decorating the front, and around her waist was a short purple grass skirt. The young woman also had on red thigh-high leggings with gold armor and white bandages on her lower legs, and there were white bandages wrapped around her forearms. In her right hand, the young huntress carried a wooden spear with a large curved blade at the top.

"When Amazoness Princess has been summoned to her field, I can use her effect to add another Amazoness card to my hand!" Keiko announced. "I use this effect to take Amazoness Call from my deck! Next I activate Amazoness Call and use its effect to add Amazoness Baby Tiger to my hand! Now I activate Polymerization and fuse Amazoness Princess with Baby Tiger in my hand to summon Amazoness Empress!"

Appearing next to Amazoness Princess was a small pinkish-orange tiger cub with large green eyes. Around its neck was a red and green metal collar that was at least a size to big for it. Near the end of the cubs short thick tail was a red and green metal ring. As soon as Baby Tigre appeared, both it and Amazoness Princess jumped into a small transparent vortex that had appeared in the air above the battlefield. Dropping out of the vortex a few moments later was another warrior woman that seemed to be a bit older than Amazoness Princess.

The woman warrior was well muscled and had tan skin, long white hair and golden eyes. Atop her head almost like a crown was a horned animal skull, and she had two slightly larger animal skulls with tusks covering her shoulders like armor. She had on a green and brown top with a small horned upside-down skull on the front covered her chest. Around her waist was a tattered brown skirt with a large horned animal skull covering the front of her belt. On her forearms she had gold armor with spikes on the elbows over white bandages, and she had similar armor and wrappings on her lower legs. Hanging from the warrior woman's back was a long tattered red cape. In her hands, she carried a gigantic sword with a curved black blade that had large white spikes on one of the edges.

"I attack Mysical Elf with Amazoness Empress!" Keiko announced. "And just so you know, all my Amazoness monsters can inflict piercing damage while Amazoness Empress is on the field! Off with her head!"

With one swing of her massive blade, Amazoness Empress decapitated Akane's blue elf. The remains of Mystical Elf shattered into particles of gold light, and Akane's life points dropped to 3200.

"I set one card on the field and end my turn!" Keiko announced. "Alright bitch. Let's see how well you do now that I've got one of my ace monsters on the field."

Akane calmly drew her next card. "I activate the Spell card, Swing of Memories and use its effect to summon Mystical Elf back to the field!"

On cue, Mystical Elf reappeared on Akane's side of the field with a flash of white light.

"Now I sacrifice Mystical Elf to special summon my own ace, Silent Magician!" Akane announced.

Mystical Elf shattered into particles of gold light, and appearing in her place with a dazzling blue-green flash was a young-looking woman with fair skin and long flowing silver hair. Atop her head was a white conical had with a large thick brim decorated with a round blue gemstone on the front. The woman had on a tight blue dress with long sleeves and a long skirt with holes near the top showing off her bare hips. Hanging down the front of her dress was a long white cloth decorated with blue markings. The woman also had on white gloves, and in her right hand she held a short silver staff with a blue crescent-shaped top supporting a green orb underneath a green crystal arch.

"Silent Magician gains 500 ATK for each card in my hand, so right now her ATK drops from 1000 to 3000," Akane continued. "But now I activate Card of Sanctity, making us both draw until we each hold six cards in our hands! And now that my hand has six cards, Silent Magician's ATK goes up to 4000!"

"Crap!" Keiko cursed.

"Silent Magician! Attack Amazoness Empress!" Akane commanded. "Silent Burning!"

Silent Magician aimed her staff at Amazoness Empress. Soon after she did, a ball of cracking blue-green energy began to form around the end of her staff and quickly grew in size.

"I activate my Trap, Negate Attack!" Keiko announced. "This card cancels your magician's attack and ends the Battle Phase!"

When it became large enough, Silent Magician fired the ball of energy from her staff across the field. Before the projectile could reach its target though, a small vortex appeared in front of Amazoness Empress and sucked the projectile in. Keiko couldn't help but breath a sigh of relief.

"Guess I'll end my turn," Akane decided.

Keiko drew her next card. "I equip Amazoness Empress with Amazoness Heirloom! This card prevents the Amazoness monster it's equipped to from being destroyed in battle, and destroys whatever monster she battles at the end of the Damage Step!"

Appearing around the empress's neck was a necklace with a small wooden figure that had a large green gemstone fitted into the stomach.

"A pointless move. I activate Silent Magician's effect!" Akane announced. "Once per turn, she can negate the activation of a Spell card and destroy it!"

Silent Magician fired a blue of blue-green lightning from the end of her staff at Amazoness Empress. The bolt struck the warrior queen's necklace and shattered it into particles of gold light.

"Did you really think that such a simple tactic could work against me?" Akane asked.

Keiko smirked. "Not for a second. But I hoped that it would make for a good decoy. I knew that Silent Magician could only activate her Spell canceling effect once per turn, so I played Heirloom hoping that you'd waste her effect on it, and you took the bait like a big-mouthed bass. Now then, here's how I'm really gonna take you down! I summon Amazoness Paladin in Attack Mode!"

Materializing on the field next to Amazoness Paladin was a young woman with tan skin, blue eyes and long blonde hair. She had a long tan cloth wrapped around the back of her head like a hood. A tan top covered her chest, and covering her shoulders like armor were large purple feathers. Hanging from the woman's back was a long tan cape, and around her waist was a short tan skirt. In her right hand she clutched a simple sword with a golden handle.

"When another Amazoness monster has been summoned to the field, I can summon Amazoness Baby Tiger from the Graveyard!" Keiko announced.

On cue, Baby Tiger reappeared on the field next to Amazoness Paladin.

"I activate Polymerization and fuse Baby Tiger and Paladin to summon Amazoness pet Liger!" Keiko announced.

Baby Tiger and Amazoness Paladin jumped into another transparent vortex that had appeared in the air above the battlefield. Dropping down out of the vortex was a large white tiger with a gold mane and a golden tuft of fur at the end of its tail. Its right eye was scarred shut, but its left eye was open and as red as blood. Around each of its ankles were spiked golden bands decorated with red and blue designs, and on its forehead was a piece of black armor with two green gems. Covering its shoulders were pieces of black armor with gold trim, and on each piece of armor was a pair of large olive-green spikes with dark-red spikes.

"So you've summoned the other ace card of the Amazoness monsters," Akane indifferently observed. "But neither Pet Liger nor Amazoness Empress can defeat my Silent Magician at her current ATK."

"You know Tsukasa, you elite duelists really tick me off sometimes," Keiko remarked. "You get so damn confident in yourselves that you think that nobody can beat you, especially not 'commoners' like me. Well that overconfidence has just done you in! Now that Amazoness Empress and Pet Liger are on the field, I can activate the Spell card, Amazoness Conquest! This card destroys all my opponent's face-up monsters!"

Pet Liger let out a roar that echoed across the field, and suddenly the sky began to rumble with thunder. Amazoness Empress then raised her sword straight into the air, and suddenly a bolt of red lighting came down and struck the blade. The warrior queen swung her weapon straight down and shot that same bolt of red lightning at Silent Magician. Upon being struck, Silent Magician shattered into particles of gold light.

"The irony is that if you hadn't played Card of Sanctity before or wasted Silent Magician's effect on my Amazoness Heirloom, I wouldn't have been able to pull any of this off," Keiko remarked. "This is what overconfidence gets ya."

Akane was totally unfazed by Keiko's words. "When Silent Magician has been destroyed, her effect lets me summon another Silent Magician monster from my hand or deck regardless of summon conditions. I summon Silent Magician LV8!"

Silent Magician reappeared on the field in a slightly different form. The holes on the hips of her dress had vanished and the crystal arch on the top of her staff had turned to silver.

"Silent Magician has 3500 ATK and can't be affected my opponent's Spell cards," Akane announced. "In short, this duel is still in my favor."

Keiko cursed something under her breath. "Just as well. I can't attack during the same turn I use Amazoness Conquest anyway. I'll just set one more card on the field and end my turn!"

Akane drew her next card. "Silent Magician! Attack Amazoness Empress! Silent Burning!"

Silent Magician LV8 aimed her staff at Amazoness Empress, and in seconds a large ball of crackling blue-green energy began to form at the end of it.

"I activate my Trap, Kunai with Chain!" Keiko announced. "I equip this card to Amazoness Empress to raise her ATK by 500, and also use the chain's effect to switch Silent Magician LV8 to Defense Mode!"

Amazoness Empress had stuck her massive sword into the ground and a long chain with a three-pointed blade at the end appeared in her hands. The warrior queen swung the chain around before throwing it at Silent Magician like a grappling hook. The blade and chain snared Silent Magician around her legs, and with one hard tug from Amazoness Empress she was pulled to the ground at the exact moment she fired her staff. The sudden pull to the ground caused the magician to fire the blast from her staff harmlessly into the sky.

"That magician of yours may be immune to Spell cards, but she's powerless against Traps," Keiko remarked. "Face it, Tsukasa. I've got you right where I want you."

"I set one card on the field and end my turn," Akane announced.

Keiko drew her next card. "I attack Silent Magician with Pet Liger, and when Pet Liger attacks an enemy monster, he gains 500 ATK during the battle! And don't forget the piercing damage he can inflict thanks to Amazoness Empress being on the field!"

Pet Liger dashed across the field and leapt towards Silent Magician, who was still lying on the ground. A look of terror formed on the magician's face right before Pet Liger pounced on her and tore into her throat. In a matter of seconds, Silent Magician LV8 shattered into particles of gold light. Soon after, Akane's life points dropped to 1200.

"It's over!" Keiko declared. "This next attack will finish you!"

"I activate my Trap, New World Vision!" Akane announced. "When a Light monster I control is destroyed in battle, this card ends the Battle Phase and lets me summon a New World Genus monster from my deck! I summon New World Genus – Hel Stag!"

Suddenly a massive beam of white light came down from the sky and struck the ground on Akane's side of the field. In a few moments the light faded to reveal the half-dead deer from Akane's dream. Keiko was greatly startled by the deer's sudden appearance. Amazoness Empress seemed just as unsettled by the deer's arrival, and Pet Liger roared at the beast as if trying to scare it off, as if the deer was something that should not exist at all.

"What… what the hell kind of card is that?" Keiko asked.

Suddenly Akane began to chuckle, and that chuckle quickly became a fit of insane laughter. Keiko looked across the field at her opponent and saw in her eyes something that could only be described as sheer madness.

"Rejoice! One of the heralds of the new world has finally come!" Akane declared.

"What the hell's gotten into you?" Keiko asked, becoming more frightened. "Where did you get that freaky card?"

"Are you done yet?" Akane asked with a mad stare.

"I… I end my turn!" Keiko announced.

Akane drew her next card. "And now, I activate Hel Stag's effect! By banishing Hel Stag and a Light monster from the Graveyard, I can use them as material to Fusion Summon unlike anything this world has ever seen! I banish both Hel Stag and Silent Magician to call forth The Invader X!"

Hel Stag clopped his right front hoof on the ground three times. Suddenly Silent Magician reappeared on the field in her original form, surrounded by an eerie yellow-green aura. The magician's body was limp and she had a blank expression on her face as though she were in a trance. Suddenly the sky above rumbled and became covered by thick dark clouds. Then with a blinding flash of lightning, a massive hole in the sky opened up to show a swirling white vortex in the middle of a sea of stars. Hel Stag took of into the air towards the hole in the sky, and Silent Magician was dragged along behind him as if by some invisible rope. As the two monsters came near the rupture in the sky, Silent Magician seemed to regain her senses and let out a blood-curdling scream at what she was seeing, as though she were being dragged towards some unspeakable horror.

The scream soon died away as Hel Stag and Silent Magician completely vanished from sight. A few seconds later a fast-moving object zoomed out of the hole in the sky at lightning speed and stopped to hover over the ground on Akane's side of the field. The object was a strange dark-green sphere that seemed to have a reflective surface. On the front of the sphere was a large X-shaped opening that seemed to show an endless tunnel of multicolored light on the inside of the thing.

Suddenly the sphere made a strange horn-like noise as a ripple passed over its skin from the opening on its front like a wave. Soon after, the sphere started to distort and began to change shape, with the opening on its front becoming smaller. The color of the thing started to change as well, and in moments the object had become a strange centaur-like creature, with the body of Hel Stag acting as its lower half. The more human-like upper half of the thing was that of a woman with long silver hair, and the face was that of Silent Magician, only the right side of it was covered by hair except for an eerie glowing red eye that peeked through. A piece of green reflecting armor like what the sphere was made of covered the entity's chest, and right above the top of her breasts was the same glowing X-shaped opening that had been on the sphere. Her left arm was bare except for a green metal bracelet, while her right arm was made completely of bone. Growing from the left side of her head was an antler covered in pink flowers, while on the right side of her head was an antler that looked like the branch of a long-dead tree.

Once Akane's strange monster had finished forming, its body began to radiate waves of multicolored light out across the field. Keiko's monsters suddenly cried out in pain, and she watched as they started to go through a startling transformation. Black claws grew from the ends of Amazoness Empress's fingers, and her face grew a snout like that of a wolf. The warrior queen's eyes had become totally yellow, and the light of intelligence they once had was totally gone. Meanwhile Pet Liger had suddenly grown to twice his original size and a pair of large black curved horns had sprouted from the sides of his head. His front teeth had also grown longer to become like those of a saber-toothed cat. A row of large black spikes also sprouted from the feline's back.

Keiko's monsters weren't the only once to go through a dramatic transformation though. In a matter of seconds large crystalline trees like towers had shot up from the ground in various places. The lighthouse had also become covered in strange vines covered in weird flowers of different colors. Akane suddenly burst into another fit of insane laughter. Keiko looked across the field and saw that the eyes of her dark-haired opponent were glowing with the same multicolored light as the X-shaped hole on her centaur monster's chest.

"Now the fun really begins," Akane spoke. "Welcome to the new world."

* * *

Shizuma and Nagisa were standing out on the balcony of their bedroom looking out at the stars. Neither of them was quite ready to retire to bed, especially not Shizuma. Shizuma at that moment was clutching a small tightly in her pocket, something that she was a little afraid to show Nagisa.

"Being back on the island has really brought back a lot of memories," Nagisa remarked. "The time I first came here was really quite a time for us."

"I'll say. Meeting you back then really changed my life," Shizuma replied. She then took a deep breath. "Nagisa. There's something I've wanted to talk to you about ever since we got here, and now seems like a perfect time. Nagisa…"

Before Shizuma could get out another word, Nagisa saw a light coming from inside their bedroom. "Hey! What the heck is that?"

Shizuma looked and saw the light that Nagisa was now pointing at. The two of them went back into the room to investigate and saw that it was coming from Shizuma's deck. Shizuma picked up her deck and saw that the light was coming from the card for Terra Firma.

"Shizuma, what do you think this means?" Nagisa asked.

"No idea… but I get the feeling that it's nothing good," Shizuma answered.

* * *

"Just what the hell did you do, Tsukasa?" Keiko demanded to know.

"To answer, let me start by explaining The Invader X's effect," Akane began. "First of all, The Invader X's type changes to the type of the New World Genus monster used to bring it forth. Hel Stag was a Beast-Type, so The Invader X is now a Beast monster as well. Not only that, Invader X gains the ATK and DEF of the New World Genus monster that was used to summon him, so right now X has 3800 ATK and 2900 DEF."

"And I'm guessing the reason that thing has your Silent Magician's upper body is because you used her as one of the Fusion Materials for it," Keiko deduced. "But what the hell did you do to my monsters?"

"While The Invader X is on the field, it changes the type of all other monsters on the field to whatever type it has assumed," Akane explained. "Not only that, when The Invader X has been summoned, I'm able to activate the Field Spell, New World – Shangri-La of Light directly from my hand or deck. Shangri-La of Light affects different types of monsters in different ways. For Beast-Types like what your monsters currently are, they gain 500 ATK, but cannot be played in Defense Mode or use whatever effects they have while on the field. In other words, both of your monsters are now primitive creatures incapable of intelligent thought, with only the savage instinct to attack anything that comes near them."

"Wouldn't that effect also apply to your weird Invader too?" Keiko asked.

"Actually no. Because you see, Shangri-La of Light doesn't effect Legendary Planet monsters like The Invader X," Akane revealed.

"Wait! Hold the phone! You're trying to tell me that thing is one of the Legendary Planets?" a stunned Keiko asked. "Hate to burst your bubble, but I know the identity of ever Legendary Planet card, and that thing ain't one of 'em!"

"The reason you don't know about The Invader X is because it was hidden from the world, waiting for just the right time to awaken," Akane told her. "It's based on the concept of Planet X, the forbidden planet hidden at the edge of our solar system. And now it has come to claim this world as its own! I attack Amazoness Empress with The Invader X! World's End Silence Ray!"

"But Amazoness Empress and your Invader both have the same ATK thanks to that freaky Field Spell of yours!" Keiko pointed out.

"True, but Invader X also gained another effect from Hel Stag," Akane revealed. "In its current form when Invader X attacks a Beast monster, it gains half that monster's ATK during the battle!"

A ball of crackling multicolored energy formed between the centaur monster's antlers. Amazoness Empress roared and charged blindly at the Invader with her claws bared, leaving her weapons behind. The beast woman had barely gotten half way across the field when The Invader X fired a massive blast of energy at her. Amazoness Empress was vaporized in an instant, and Keiko's life points had dropped to 2100.

"Amazoness Empress still has one effect she can use!" Keiko announced. "When she's been destroyed, I can summon Amazoness Queen from my deck!"

Appearing suddenly on Keiko's side of the field was a throne of tan stone. Sitting on the throne was a woman with tan skin and long blue hair. A large black patch covered the woman's right eye, and covering her chest was a blue and yellow top decorated with spikes. A tattered red cape hung from her back, and her right hand rested on the gold handle of a gigantic sword. As soon as Amazoness Queen appeared on the field, wave of multicolored light radiated from The Invader X, causing the queen to scream in pain. Black horns grew from the sides of her head, and her face developed a snout like that of a sheep. Her one eye had turned totally blue and lacked any spark of intelligence.

"I set one card on the field and end my turn, and with the end of my turn, another one of the Invader's effects activates!" Akane announced. "At the end of each one of my turns, The Invader X destroys all other monsters on the field and lets me summon an equal amount of New World Tokens to any side of the field that I wish!"

Suddenly Pet Liger and Amazoness Queen roared in pain as yellow light suddenly spewed from their mouths and eyes. In seconds, both monsters exploded into particles of yellow light that drifted across the field and reformed into small green spheres that formed to the left and right of The Invader X. Suddenly both spheres began to change in shape, color and size. The sphere on the Invader's right had transformed into a wolf-like creature with no skin. Its body was all red muscle, while its head was a white skull with glowing red eyes and a single horn growing from the middle of its head. Meanwhile the other sphere had transformed into some grey blasphemous hybrid of pig and donkey that was too hideous to describe in full detail.

Akane let out a shot laugh of insane joy. "Beautiful, isn't it? This is how The Invader X takes over worlds! It takes what's already there and rebuilds it into something new! It is a true divine being of Light!"

The sight of the two monsters that The Invader X had created made Keiko want to vomit. In fact she very nearly did but managed to tamp it down at the last second. Those Token monsters were not beautiful at all, but abominations; the kind of creature that could only be made by a god that was either insane or a mindless idiot.

"Its your move," Akane reminded Keiko. "But if you were wise, you'd just surrender now. You'd only prolong your suffering otherwise."

"Like hell!" Keiko shot back as she drew her next card. "I activate the Spell card, Raigeki! With this card, I destroy every monster you have out on the field!"

Suddenly a massive bolt of red lighting came down and struck Akane's side of the field with a blinding flash. The flash cleared and all three of Akane's monsters were covered in fire as they roared in pain. The gigantic crystal trees surrounding the area suddenly shattered and the vines covering the lighthouse were set aflame as well. Akane's three monsters soon collapsed to the ground, and in seconds the flames finally died away. The ashes left behind by the bodies of the Invader and its two horrors blew away in the breeze, as did the ashes that were once the vines covering the lighthouse. Meanwhile the hole in the sky had closed up, and the clouds had cleared to show the normal night sky.

"When The Invader X is no longer on my side of the field, Shangi-La of Light is instantly sent to the Graveyard," Akane announced.

Keiko breathed a heavy sigh of relief before turning her attention back fully on the duel. "I summon a second Amazoness Paladin in Attack Mode!"

On cue, another blonde swordswoman like the one Keiko had used to summon Pet Liger appeared on the field.

"I use Amazoness Paladin to attack you directly!" Keiko announced.

"I activate my Trap, Negate Attack!" Akane announced as Amazoness Paladin began to charge towards her. "This card cancels your monster's attack and ends the Battle Phase!"

Just as Amazoness Paladin came in striking range and raised her sword, a transparent vortex appeared in front of Akane and repelled her back across the field with a flash of white light.

"Guess I end my turn then," Keiko announced.

"And with your turn's end, The Invader X returns from my Graveyard to my Fusion Deck," Akane announced.

"Big deal. Without that freaky deer of yours, you can't summon that thing back to the field," Keiko pointed out.

"Don't be so sure," Akane told her as she drew her next card. "I summon New World Genus – Corpse Flower in Attack Mode!"

Appearing on Akane's side of the field with a flash of white light was the same strange large blue flower with the eye that had appeared in Akane's dream. Both Keiko and Amazoness Paladin were visibly unsettled when the flower turned to look right at them.

"When Corpse Flower has been summoned, I can use its effect to summon a Light monster with 1000 or less ATK from my Graveyard in Defense Mode!" Akane announced. "I use this effect to bring back Mystical Elf!"

Mystical Elf suddenly burst out of the ground wrapped in sickly grey tree roots. Her eyes were closed as if asleep or dead, and a strange yellow aura radiated from her body.

"I now banish both Corpse Flower and Mystical Elf to summon The Invader X in Defense Mode!" Akane announced.

The sky ripped open again to show the same white vortex from before. Corpse flower then began to flap the leaves on the sides of its stem like wings and pulled itself out of the ground. The alien plant fluttered up towards the hole in the sky like a bat, and some invisible force pulled up Mystical Elf out of the ground after it. As the two monsters came closer to the hole, Mystical Elf finally opened her eyes and then let out a horrid shriek that echoed through the sky. The shriek died away as the two monsters faded from view.

A few seconds later, the green sphere that was The Invader X in its base form zoomed down out of the sky and stopped to hover above the ground on Akane's side of the field. The sphere made another horn-like noise as its skin rippled and its body began to change in shape and color. The entity rooted itself to the ground and became covered in grey bark, turning into a sort of tree. The top of the tree though became the bust of a beautiful woman with blue-grey skin and long white hair with odd blue flowers growing in it. The woman's face was that of Mystical Elf, and her eyes were closed and she had tears streaming down her face.

A crown of brown thorns was around the woman's head. The bark of the three acted as her dress. Her arms were raised up as large branches that had multiple limbs with black leaves growing from it. The same red eye that Corpse Flower had possessed snapped open with a crack on the tree woman's stomach. Right below the eye was the same glowing X-shaped hole that was on the front of the Invader's original form.

As soon as the Invader had finished taking its original form, its body radiated waves of multicolored light out across the field. Suddenly the crystal tree-like towers from before burst up from the ground, and strange vines once again coiled around the lighthouse. At the same time, Amazoness Paladin let out a startled gasp. Faster than the eye could see, the swordswoman had been replaced by a human-shaped bush with purple flowers that was wearing the Paladin's clothes and holding her sword.

"The Invader X is now a Plant monster with 2800 ATK and 4000 DEF, and your monster is now a Plant as well because of the Invader's effect," Akane told Keiko. "And because Invader X was Fusion Summoned again, I was able to play another copy of New World – Shangri-La of Light from my deck. And while Shangri-La of Light is on the field, normal Plant monsters become unable to attack or change battle position."

"In other words, you just turned my Amazoness Paladin into a damn hedge animal," Keiko realized. "You screwed up though by summon your Invader in Defense Mode."

"Actually I didn't," Akane told her. "You see The Invader X gained a very special effect from Corpse Flower. And that effect is when my opponent only controls Plant monsters; Invader X can attack my opponent directly while in Defense Mode. Invader X! Attack her directly an end this! World's End Silence Ray!"

The tree woman fired a powerful beam of multicolored light from the eye on her stomach. The blast went straight past the bush that was once Amazoness Paladin and struck Keiko, knocking her onto her back. The attack knocked Keiko's life points down to zero.

"And now… I shall send you to the new world," Akane spoke with a mad smirk. "A world where you will know nothing but the same suffering that I experience."

Keiko finally managed to sit up, but as soon as she did her insides felt as though they were on fire. She screamed as yellow light spewed from her eyes and mouth. Her body then shattered into particles of light that flew up into the massive hole in the sky. After a few more moments, the hole in the sky closed up. The Invader X vanished from the field and the surrounding area went totally back to normal. Akane's eyes stopped glowing and she let out a startled gasp.

Akane felt as though she had just woken up from a dream or a nightmare, yet she knew that what she had experienced was real. She could see that it was real from the scorch mark on the ground that had been left by Keiko when she was seemingly vaporized.

"Oh dear god!" Akane cried out in a terrified whisper as she covered her mouth with her hand. "What did I just do?"

* * *

Jaden, Alexis and Yubel were standing at the window of their bedroom looking towards the night sky. Standing with them was the ghostly transparent form of a man with long black hair wearing glasses. This was the ghost of Jaden's old teacher, Lyman Banner, who traveled with Jaden inside Pharaoh's stomach. All four of them had sensed something dangerous and were looking at the sky trying to figure out what it was.

"There's no doubt about it. This is the same presence we sensed before," Yubel told the others.

"So Akane must have something to do with it," Jaden realized.

"Like I said this morning, Erica is probably better off staying away from her," Yubel reminded him.

"How come we can't sense whatever this thing is now?" Alexis asked.

"There could be many reasons," Banner answered. "It could be that the source of the power has once again gone dormant."

"Jaden!" a familiar voice spoke.

Jaden and the others turned to see Neos standing before them with his arms crossed. There were two other monsters with Neos. One was a black panther with a gold collar adorned with a white crystal, and a black cape with a red underside on its back. The other was a humanoid-shaped mound of glowing blue moss with large round black eyes. Jaden and the others recognized these two monsters as Neo-Spacian Dark Panther and Neo-Spacian Glow Moss respectively.

"You guys must've sensed whatever that power was too," Jaden assumed.

"Yes, and we recognized it immediately," Neos answered. "The Light of Destruction has returned once again."

"I was afraid you were going to say that," Yubel responded with a sigh.

"It didn't come alone though," Dark Panther informed them. "It's brought heralds with it."

"Heralds?" Jaden repeated with a raised eyebrow.

"Creatures that are somehow similar in nature to the Neo-Spacians," Neos explained.

"Dark Panther and I sensed two such heralds that were slightly similar in nature to us," Glow Moss added. "There are likely four more that will show up."

"We must be vigilant, Jaden," Neos told him. "This may be the most dangerous incarnation of the Light we've faced yet."

* * *

Akane had gone into the lighthouse rather than go back to the dorm. In her current state she wasn't up to making such a long walk. Once inside, Akane slid down the side of the wall and was soon sitting on the floor with her knees to her chest. She was terrified of what was happening to her, of what she was becoming.

 _"Do not trouble yourself, my child,"_ a distorted female voice spoke. _"You did nothing wrong in that duel, but something wonderful. You've shown that girl bliss."_

Akane looked up, and floating before her was the ghostly form of a woman that was pitch black except for what appeared to be stars, though most of her features were outline by glowing white lines. She had no face except for a pair of bright glowing white lights that seemed to serve as eyes. Akane had recalled seeing that woman before in one of her dreams and became even more frightened.

"Who… what are you?" Akane asked in a trembling voice.

 _"You needn't be afraid. My name is Lucia,"_ the ghost woman answered. _"And you and I have much to discuss."_

* * *

 **Author's Note:** And we'll leave things off there. I'm sure many of my regular readers recognize Lucia from the previous story of this series, _Viper's Grudge_. She'll be playing something of a supporting role in this story. Anyway, the reason why I had such a hard time with getting this chapter up was because of the duel between Akane and Keiko. The main problem was I was drawing a blank figuring out what decks the two of them should use. Keiko's deck was a major problem because I hadn't really developed her character much during the outline stage of the story. She was just kind of a bit player that I never really put much thought into until I wrote her original debut.

When the time finally came to write this chapter, I initially thought about having Keiko use the new Thunder Dragon monsters from the _Soul Fusion_ booster set (I still can't quite believe that Thunder Dragon decks are actually a thing now). I switched her to an Amazoness deck for a number of reasons, the main one being that I wanted her to use human-like monsters to help better show the dramatic transformation The Invader X causes while on the field. I only had to make up one card for Keiko, this one.

 **Amazoness Conquest**

Spell Card

Activate only if you control both "Amazoness Empress" and "Amazoness Pet Liger": Destroy all face-up monsters your opponent controls. You cannot conduct your Battle Phase during the turn you activate this card.

This was just something I made up on the fly because I needed a way for Keiko to get rid of Silent Magician, and I wanted to save Raigeki for her last desperate counterattack towards the end of the duel.

Akane's deck was a major challenge not only because she was using a bunch of made up cards, but also because I hadn't been able to figure out what her regular deck and ace monster should be. In the very early stages of the story's development, I had thought about having Akane use a Different Dimension deck. I found that I didn't like that idea for a number of reasons though, reasons that I won't get into here. After posting the first four chapters of the story, I thought about just making up a new archetype for Akane to use, but that would've meant a whole lot more work and the special card(s) I had in mind for her already was turning out to be a pain as it was. In the end, I decided to have Akane use a Light-based Spellcaster (and possibly Warrior) deck, with Silent Magician acting as her ace card. I felt that the Silent Magician complimented the mysterious quality that Akane seems to have. Plus it sort of complimented Erica's Magnet Warrior deck in a way, what with Silent Magician and the Magnet Warriors being cards once used by Yugi and Atem.

Of course the big problem with figuring out Akane's deck was the fact that she was using the card that's essentially the star of our show, The Invader X. That card was sort of a mystery to me for ages. I knew that it was based on the old sci-fi concept of Planet X, and that it was powerful and connected to the Light of Destruction. Beyond that, I was drawing a total blank. Then this past February or March (I think it was February), I went and saw the movie, _Annihilation_ staring Natalie Portman, and it was that movie that helped me figure out what sort of creature The Invader X should be. I saw the card as being a sort of mindless creature that invaded and destroyed whatever planet it attacked by altering the very nature of what it was, sort of like a virus or cancer.

Even after figuring out the Invader's identity though, I soon realized that the effect on the field I wanted it to have was just too big for one card to do. That's what eventually led to me making New World - Shangri-La of Light, the Field Spell that the Invader essentially creates with its very presence on the planet, and the New World Genus monsters that give the Invader its form and powers, and help determine what sort of world the creature tries to make. So the Invader itself ended up being a formless shapeshifting entity not unlike The Wicked Avatar, which occurs to me could be considered another callback to _Strawberry Crisis_.

Now I'm sorry to say that I won't be displaying the stats and effects for The Invader X or New World - Shangri-La of Light in this author's note. The reason for this is their effect text would just give away too much about the duels happening towards the end of this story. I will however show the two New World Genus monsters that appeared in this chapter.

 **New World Genus – Hel Stag**

LIGHT/Beast/Effect/4/ATK 1800/DEF 900

You can banish this face-up card on the field and 1 LIGHT monster in your Graveyard to Fusion Summon "The Invader X". A Fusion Monster summoned using this card as Material gains the following effect: * When this card attacks a Beast-Type monster, it gains half that monster's current ATK during the Damage Step only.

This creature is based on one of my favorite animal mutations from _Annihilation_. There's a scene in that movie where Natalie Portman's character encounters a white deer with flowers growing from its antlers, and as she's looking at it, another deer that looks dead and decaying emerges from behind it. When I watched the movie again on blu-ray last week to get some inspiration for this duel (and rekindle the inspiration behind The Invader X), I paused that scene to get a better look at both animals. For the card, I decided to combine both deer into one, and based its name and design on the Norse figure, Hel. For those unfamiliar with Norse mythology, Hel was one of Loki's three monster children. One side of her body was that of a beautiful woman, while the other was that of a rotting corpse. Because of her nature, Odin decided to put Hel in charge of the land of the dead.

 **New World Genus – Corpse Flower**

LIGHT/Plant/Effect/4/ATK 800/DEF 2000

When this card is Normal Summoned, you can Special Summon 1 LIGHT monster with 1000 or less ATK from your Graveyard in face-up Defense Position. You can banish this card and 1 other LIGHT monster you control to Fusion Summon "The Invader X". A Fusion Monster summoned using this card as Material gains the following effect: * If your opponent only controls Plant-Type monsters, this face-up Defense Position card can attack your opponent directly.

I really wish I could've come up with a better name for this monster. I really tried, but I just kept drawing a blank. I felt pretty pleased with the monster's design though. I do wonder though if I made the effect it gives The Invader X a little too overpowered.

 **New World Vision**

Trap Card

Activate when a LIGHT monster you control is destroyed by battle: End the Battle Phase, then Special Summon 1 "New World Genus" monster from your hand or deck.

Just a card I made up on the fly to keep Akane from being killed by the duo of Amazoness Empress and Pet Liger. No deep story behind it other than that.

Sorry for the long author's note, but I thought you all might like to know about the themes and inspiration behind Akane's cards. Incidentally, the idea of the New World Genus monsters being the opposite number of the Neo-Spacians was just something that occurred to me as I started writing the chapter. Hel Stag is Dark Panther's enemy due to the relationship between big cats and deer, and Corpse Flower is Glow Moss's enemy due to them both being plants. Honestly, I had intended The Invader X to be a nemesis to Terra Firma, but I guess its connection to the New World Genus monsters makes it more the nemesis of Neos.

Anyway, that pretty much wraps it up for this chapter. The next chapter should be much lighter, and will circle back to what Shizuma was trying to talk to Nagisa about before Terra Firma gave off that little light show. I'll try not to take as long to get the next chapter up.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	14. Night of the Proposal, Part 1

**Author's Note:** Before we get into this chapter, I think I should take a moment to apologize to all my readers for not touching this story in almost a year now. There are multiple reasons for why this fanfic went on a bit of a hiatus. The first thing that happened was that I came down with a bout of depression right after I finished outlining the duel for this next chapter, and because of that I found I could not work on this story at all. I got over my depression fairly quickly, but around that time the _Savage Strike_ booster set came out in Japan and introduced a whole new set of cards for Neos and the Neo-Spacians. I decided to wait until after the _Dark Neostorm_ booster set came out to return to work on this story, thinking that the set would have even more cards for that archetype. Instead, we ended up getting more Destiny HERO cards, which are not relevant to this story at all since Aster isn't in it (the name of that booster set was very misleading).

Of course by the time all the cards in _Dark Neostorm_ were revealed, I was pretty involved in writing this _Sailor Moon_ fanfic that I really wanted to do. I'm back now though, at least for the time being. Updates to this story are probably going to be kind of slow, but I want to assure everyone that I'm going to keep going with it until it's finally finished.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX or Strawberry Panic.

* * *

Chapter 13: Night of the Proposal, Part 1

It was early in the afternoon as Jaden took another stroll across Spica grounds. He had mainly gone there in the hopes of finding Amane and perhaps having a duel with her, but he was also there to try and find Akane. Ever since it had become clear that the Light of Destruction was at work on the island, Jaden and Yubel both felt it likely that Akane had become the Light's latest pawn. There was no other way to explain the odd sensation they had been getting from her. As Jaden got closer to Spica's main building, he suddenly spotted Erica sitting on a bench looking depressed.

At that moment, Jaden decided he should go over and have a word with her. "Hey Erica! Everything okay?"

"Oh… um, not really," Erica answered as Jaden came over. "Keiko's been missing for the last three days."

"She's missing?" a surprised Jaden responded. "Any idea what happened?"

Erica shook her head. "The campus authorities have been looking everywhere for her, but it's like she's vanished from the face of the earth. Even Keiko's girlfriend doesn't have any idea where she is. She's worried sick about her."

Jaden nodded. "I'll bet."

"Keiko's been missing for three days, huh?" Yubel noted as she appeared next to Jaden with crossed arms. "Well it was four nights ago when we sensed the presence of the Light of Destruction. Keiko's disappearance could have something to do with that."

"And with Akane," Jaden whispered.

"What's that?" Erica asked.

"Uh… nothing," Jaden answered as he rubbed the back of his head. "Listen Erica… you probably won't like what I'm about to tell you, but I think you should try to stay away from Akane. It's just that I've met her a few times, and let's just say I get kind of a bad feeling from her."

"Well you don't have to worry about that. Right now I don't even want to think about Akane," Erica told him. "Not after the way she tore my heart out the other night."

"Did you really have to remind the girl about her heartache on top of this?" Yubel asked.

"What? I was just trying to make sure Erica stayed away from her," Jaden whispered back.

"There you are!" a familiar voice called. Jaden looked and saw Alexis coming up with Atticus and Reggie. "We've been looking everywhere for you."

"Perfect timing, Lexie," Yubel told her. "Jaden was just making a total idiot out of himself just now."

Alexis looked over at Erica and saw her dark mood. "Oh geez! What'd you do?"

"Nothing!" Jaden insisted.

"There's nothing to be concerned about, Ms. Rhodes," Erica assured her as she rose from the bench. "Well, I should be getting to class now. If you'll all excuse me."

With, Erica walked towards the entrance into the building.

Alexis let out a heavy sigh as soon as Erica was gone. "Look, never mind what all that just now was about. Shizuma sent us to come get you. She's holding a little meeting in Miator's library."

"Meeting? What about?" Jaden asked with a raised eyebrow.

"She didn't say," Reggie answered. "It seemed pretty important though."

"Then I guess we better go see what's up," Jaden decided.

* * *

A few minutes later, Jaden and the others arrived at one of the larger conference rooms in Miator's library. When they arrived, Shizuma was sitting at the head of the table with a serious expression on her face. Miyuki was standing at Shizuma's right, while Tamao was standing at her left. Also sitting at the table were Amane, Hikari, Tabitha and Sheila.

"Glad you could all make it," Miyuki spoke as Jaden and the others entered. "Please have a seat so we can begin."

As Jaden sat down at the opposite end of the table with the others, he noticed that somebody was missing. "Hey. Where's Nagisa."

"The reason Nagisa isn't here is because she's the subject of this meeting," Miyuki answered. "I'll let Shizuma explain."

Shizuma tented her fingers and leaned forward. "I intend to propose to Nagisa."

A big grin formed on Hikari's face. "Shizuma! That's wonderful!"

"Yeah, but… why're you telling us all about it?" Amane asked. "I mean, why do we have to be involved in this?"

"Because the fact is I need your help to make the moment I propose to her perfect," Shizuma explained. "The setting needs to be just right. The truth is I've been planning to propose to Nagisa ever since we were invited back to the island, but finding just the right moment to do so has proven harder than expected. That's why I decided to ask Miyuki for help."

"Miyuki suggested that Shizuma propose to Nagisa over a nice dinner," Tamao interjected. "And the reason we asked all of you here is to help us set up the venue, and prepare the meal if it's not too much trouble."

"Ms. Greene. I overheard you mention the other day that you have some cooking experience," Miyuki spoke. "If it's not too much trouble, we'd like you to prepare the meal."

"That should be no trouble," Tabitha replied. "Especially not if Sheila helps."

"No problem, babe," Sheila responded, giving her girlfriend a thumbs-up.

"So where's this romantic evening of yours going to take place?" Atticus asked.

Shizuma let out a heavy sigh. "That's something I haven't been able to figure out. The villa doesn't seem romantic enough with all the time Nagisa and I have been spending there lately, and nowhere else seems special enough either."

"They could do it at the spot where they first met," Yubel suggested as she reappeared next to Alexis's chair.

"Um, hey. How 'bout you propose to Nagisa where the two of you met for the first time?" Alexis spoke, communicating Yubel's suggestion.

"You mean at the lake?" Shizuma asked, blinking in surprise. "That's… that's actually perfect."

"Oh! We could string up the trees with some lights," Hikari suggested. "And I know just where to get some too."

"Very well. Hikari, we'll let you be in charge of setting up the site," Miyuki decided. "Tamao and I will help you all we can."

"I can help with that too," Alexis spoke.

"Me too," Amane responded. "I know I made things difficult with the Founders Ball, but I'm sure I can help with this."

"Just make sure to do exactly as I say this time," Hikari told her.

"Don't worry. I know I don't have any brains for this sort of thing," Amane replied.

"Mr. Rhodes, I asked you and Ms. Mackenzie here to help provide security," Miyuki spoke. "We must make sure that Shizuma and Nagisa are not disturbed."

"No problem. We can keep out the riff-raff," Atticus assured her.

"Um, is that why you asked me here too?" Jaden asked as he raised his hand. "Because the other stuff you need help with isn't really anything I'm all that experienced with."

"Actually Jaden, we have a special assignment in mind for you," Tamao revealed.

"I need you to keep away this guy who's been bugging us for the last three days," Shizuma explained. "In fact he's part of the reason why we needed to have this little meeting."

"Just who're you talking about, Shizuma?" Hikari asked.

"Oh… I can never remember his name or even what he looks like," Shizuma answered. "I think he's that kid Nagisa dueled the day we came to the island."

Jaden let out a heavy sigh. "You must mean Hiroki."

"Yeah. Him," Shizuma confirmed. "Lately he's been barging in on me and Nagisa and challenging me to a duel. Frankly he's been starting to get on my nerves. Anyway, I don't need him ruining my big moment with Nagisa, so I need you to keep the guy busy. He has some sort of axe to grind with Hero deck users, and you're the only Hero user on the island, I need you to keep him distracted for me, Jaden."

"Sure. No problem," Jaden replied.

"What's that Hiroki guy's problem with Hero deck users anyway?" Atticus answered.

"Don't know, and I really don't care," Shizuma answered.

"Wow! She really is not threatened by Hiroki at all," an amazed Yubel observed.

"This Hiroki may be annoying, but he's not a duelist to be taken lightly," Reggie interjected. "After all, he has one the Legendary Planets, and he seems to know how to use it."

Shizuma blinked in surprise. "Wait, he has a Legendary Planet?"

"You saw her use it against Nagisa in their duel, remember?" Jaden reminded her.

"…Oh yeah. I guess he did," Shizuma finally recalled. "In any case though, I need him kept as far away from me and Nagisa during our dinner as possible. Can you manage that Jaden?"

Jaden smiled. "Don't worry. I think I can keep Hiroki busy for a while."

"I can help my brother and Mac keep everyone else out," Alexis told them.

"Okay then. Now that we all know what we're doing, we had better get started," Miyuki decided. "The event will happen tomorrow night, so we don't have a moment to lose."

* * *

The moon had gotten fairly high as Jaden headed into the forest. Amane had done some scouting the day before and had found the area where Hiroki would go during the night to apparently perfect his deck in solitude. Unfortunately, Hiroki's little training spot was dangerously close to the lake, and at that moment Shizuma was taking Nagisa there to have their romantic dinner. Jaden felt confident though that he could keep Hiroki away long enough for Shizuma to pop the question without interruption.

"We should probably try not to beat the drip too quickly," Yubel told Jaden as she appeared next to him while he walked.

"Don't worry. Even if I do end the duel quickly, Hiroki will likely just challenge me again right there on the spot," Jaden pointed out. "Besides, from the sound of things, he might've actually gotten better. To be honest, I'm actually looking forward to seeing if he's improved."

It wasn't long before Jaden came upon a clearing where he saw Hiroki sitting on a large rock. Hiroki at that moment was busy looking over the cards in his deck.

"Yo! Hiroki!" Jaden called, getting his attention.

"Jaden Yuki!" Hiroki responded as he jumped down from his rock and stood to face him. "How dare you enter my private training ground?"

"No need to get so worked up. I just came here to take you on in a duel," Jaden explained. "I've been hearing that you've gotten a lot stronger, and I wanted to see how much you've improved."

"…Under different circumstances I would take you on, but Hanazono is my primary objective right now," Hiroki told him. "Defeating you will have to wait."

"Uh, hey! I get why you're eager to take on Shizuma, but surly you have time to take me on first," Jaden responded. "Besides, wouldn't it be a good idea to test out your deck first to make sure it's ready to take her on? After all, Shizuma's pretty tough. She even beat Seto Kaiba one time."

Hiroki looked at his deck for a moment. "You have a point. Very well! I'll take you on Jaden Yuki!"

"Not so fast!" a voice interrupted. Jaden and Hiroki looked to see David walking into the clearing with his hands folded behind his back. "You're duel with the kid will have to wait, Jaden. Because right now, I'm going to be your opponent."

"Rabb, I don't have time to deal with you right now!" Jaden told him.

"Well you're going to make time, because you've been ducking me long enough!" David declared. "I've got a score to settle with you, and I'm not leaving until you take me on!"

"Rabb, I absolutely can't duel with you right now!" Jaden insisted.

"That's right," another voice interrupted. Jaden and the others looked to see Kaname entering the clearing. "Because you're going to duel me."

"You've gotta be kidding!" Yubel protested.

"I've been waiting for the right moment to settle my score with you, Jaden Yuki. And this is just the moment I've been waiting for!" Kaname continued. "This time no one can come to your rescue like before with your girlfriend and during the Astraea Star Cup."

"Back off, girlie! I'm dueling Jaden right now," David told her. "You can have what's left after I'm done with him."

"No way! I've been waiting for this moment way longer than you have!" Kaname argued. "Besides, haven't you heard of the term, ladies first?"

"Now look you two! I get that you've got a score to settle, but I'm not dueling anyone until after I duel Hiroki!" Jaden told them. "You two are going to have to wait!"

"Like hell!" David and Kaname shot back.

"Wait a moment!" Hiroki interjected. "I have a suggestion. The two of you are obviously desperate to avenge losses to Jaden Yuki, as am I. Plus, I still need to test out my new deck to make sure it's perfect to defeat Hanazono. So how about we have a four-way duel like the kind the used to determine the order of finalists in the Battle City Tournament? That way we can all duel our shared foe without any of us having to wait."

David held his chin in thought. "You know… that's actually not a bad idea. Truthfully I'd prefer to take down this punk on my own. But in a duel like this, we can either take on each other or gang up on one opponent. And this might be a great way to see how strong Jaden really is."

"Good point," Kaname agreed with an evil sneer. "This would be the perfect way to see if the great Jaden Yuki has what it takes to defeat three opponents at once."

"Jaden, this is a very bad idea," Yubel told him. "If it were just Hiroki and Rabb, that wouldn't be too big of a deal, but with Kaname in the mix…"

"I get what you're saying, but we have to keep Hiroki away from Shizuma and Nagisa for as long as possible," Jaden whispered.

"Well Jaden Yuki? Are you up for the challenge set before you?" Hiroki asked. "Or are you just going to turn tail and run, proving how weak you truly are?"

To this, Jaden glared at his three opponents and activated his duel disk. "Game on!"

* * *

Nagisa was being led through the forest with a blindfold over her eyes, her hand firmly clutched in Shizuma's. She had no idea where they were going or why Shizuma had insisted they get dressed up. Nagisa of course decided to play along though.

"Shizuma, how much longer until we get to this place you're talking about?" Nagisa asked. "And how long do I have to keep wearing this blindfold?"

"Patience Nagisa. We're just about there," Shziuma assured her.

In another few moments, Shizuma brought Nagisa to a stop and took off her blindfold. The redhead blinked in surprise at what she was seeing. They were out by the lake, and much of the trees were strung up with golden-white lights. Standing only inches before them was Tamao in a maid's outfit standing behind what looked like a hostess station.

"Good evening, Ms. Aoi, Ms. Hanazono," Tamao spoke with a bow. "Your table is waiting."

Nagisa was speechless as Tamao led them further towards the lake. In moments they arrived at a small table covered in white cloth. Atop the table was a candle acting as the centerpiece, and a pair of chairs had been pulled out for them. Miyuki stood next to the table dressed as a waiter, a white cloth draped over her right wrist.

"Good evening, ladies," Miyuki spoke with a bow. "Please be seated."

Shizuma and Nagisa took their seats as Tamao walked off. Nagisa was still totally blown away by all that was going on.

"Ms. Aoi, I trust you don't mind that Ms. Hanazono has already taken the liberty of ordering for you in advance," Miyuki spoke. "I shall go back to our kitchen to see if the first course is ready yet." With that, Miyuki walked off.

"Shizuma… did you plan all of this?" Nagisa asked.

"Well, I wanted this night to be a special one," Shizuma explained. "You remember this place, right?"

"Of course. This is where we met for the first time," Nagisa answered. "But what's all this for?"

"Oh… you'll find out soon enough," Shizuma answered.

"Well, I have to say I'm pretty blown away so far," Nagisa told her. "This was one heck of a surprise."

"This is merely the beginning, Nagisa," Shizuma told her. "Not just to this night, but hopefully a whole lot more."

* * *

"I'll start this off!" David declared as he drew his first card. "I summon Cannon Soldier in Attack Mode!"

Materializing on David's part of the field was a humanoid robot that was mainly purple in color. In place of a head, the machine had a long narrow cannon barrel that could rotate upward. On the front of its box-like chest were two small openings showing tiny red electric eyes and pieces of black machinery. The robot's box-like arms ended with sets of three black metal claws. Pieces of golden-yellow armor covered its shoulders, and its joints were of the same golden-yellow color.

"Next I activate Terraforming and add a Field Spell to my hand!" David announced. "And now I play the Field Spell I just pulled from my deck! Heavy Metal Raiders!"

Suddenly the ground transformed into a cold grey metal floor with a silver grid-like pattern. The surrounding trees became metallic as well, with their leaves transforming into dark-grey blades.

"I end my turn there," David announced.

"Then it's my move!" Hiroki declared as he drew his first card. "I set one card on the field and end my turn!"

"That's it?" Yubel asked with a raised eyebrow. "I know nobody can attack until each player has drawn at least one card, but the drip isn't even going to put out a monster for defense?"

"He must have a lot of faith in that face-down card of his," Jaden quietly replied. "He seems pretty confident that he can beat me."

"Guess it's my turn now," Kaname declared as she drew her first card. "I summon Renge, Gatekeeper of Dark World in Defense Mode!"

Appearing on Kaname's part of the field was a grey humanoid demon with short scrawny legs ending with feet tipped with two claws, and a thick oversized torso. It had a tiny head with green eyes and a skull-like face. The demon's arms were thick and ended with two very large hands, each with an orange palm.

"That ends my turn!" Kaname announced. "Alright Jaden Yuki. Let's see what you've really got."

Jaden took a deep breath and drew his first card, trying to ignore the presence of Kaname's Dark World monster. "First I activate Pot of Greed and draw two more cards! Next I activate the Spell card, E – Emergency Call and add Elemental Hero Avian to my hand! Now I activate Polymerization and fuse Elemental Heroes Avian and Burstinatrix in my hand to summon Elemental Hero Flame Wingman!"

On cue, Avian and Burstinatrix materialized on Jaden's part of the battlefield and flew up into the small vortex that had appeared in the air above. A few moments later, Flame Wingman dropped down out of the vortex onto the field.

"The target of our first attack seems obvious," Yubel remarked. "We can't attack Rabb because of that Field Spell of his."

Jaden nodded. "Yeah. All we'd do is make Cannon Soldier even stronger. As for Kaname, her Dark World monster's DEF is the same as Flame Wingman's ATK."

"So our only real option is to attack Hiroki," Yubel observed.

"Yeah, but… that facedown card of his has me a little worried," Jaden admitted.

"So you're suggesting we do nothing then?" Yubel asked.

"Well come on, Jaden. What's the matter? Afraid to attack us?" David asked with a mocking grin.

Jaden gritted his teeth and aimed his glare at Hiroki. "Flame Wingman! Attack Hiroki directly!"

Flame Wingman aimed his arm at Hiroki and shot a fireball from the dragon's head at the end of it. The fireball sailed across the field and struck Hiroki, creating a small explosion and knocking his life points down to 1900. After a few moments though, the smoke cleared and Hiroki's once bare part of the battlefield had a pair of monsters standing on it. One of the creatures was a man with long spiked red hair and a black visor covering his face. Black armor covered his torso and legs, and red cloth hung down from the middle of his torso from underneath his chest armor like a cape. Long black fingerless gauntlets with large curved grey blades covered his arms. The warrior's right elbow rested on a very large grey sword.

The other monster that had appeared on Hiroki's part of the field was a woman wearing a silver helmet with a pointed lavender crest at the top and long red blades projecting from the back. Black and silver armor covered her chest and arms, and a long red skirt covered her legs. Around her neck was a very thick silver choker. In her right hand, the woman held a sword with an ornate black guard.

"No way!" an amazed Jaden spoke. "Are those the monsters I think they are?"

"When I've taken damage, I'm able to summon Gorz the Emissary of Darkness from my hand!" Hiroki announced, indicating the male monster. "And when that damage I've taken is battle damage, Groz lets me summon a Kaien Token to the field with ATK equal to the damage I took! Since Flame Wingman's attack did 2100 points of damage, Kaien's ATK is also 2100!"

David let out an impressed whistle. "Not bad, kid."

"I've only just begun! Because now I activate my face-down card, De-Fusion!" Hiroki announced. "With this card, I split Flame Wingman back into his two Fusion components!"

Suddenly Flame Wingman began to glow gold as an odd vortex suddenly formed around him. In seconds the hero turned into a ball of gold light, which split in two and became Avian and Burstinatrix.

"Behold, Jaden Yuki! This is the power of my Nemesis Deck!" Hiroki declared. "With this deck, I can crush any Hero deck user I come up against!"

"Well this is inconvenient," Yubel remarked. "He probably has even more anti-Fusion cards in his deck where that just came from."

Jaden nodded. "He's not just charging in recklessly like he's done before. This time Hiroki has an actual strategy."

"You should simply just surrender, Jaden!" Hiroki declared. "I have you right where I want you now!"

After a moment, Jaden smirk. "I have to admit Hiroki, that move of yours really caught me off guard. That combo of Gorz and De-Fusion was pretty bold. You really have improved. But, I'm not gonna throw in the towel over a little setback like this. I activate the Quick-Play Spell, Neo Space Warp! This card lets me return two or more Elemental Heroes on my field back to the deck and summon Neo-Spacians with the same attributes to take their place in Defense Mode! I return Avian and Burstinatrix to the deck to summon Neo-Spacian Flare Scarab and Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird!"

Avian and Brustinatrix suddenly became enveloped in pillars of green and red light that shot down from the sky. The lights faded to reveal Flare Scarab, along with a muscular humanoid hummingbird covered in red feathers. A large pair of white and pink wings grew from the humanoid bird's back, and a set of long white tail feathers grew from his rear end. The bird warrior's arms and legs ended with black talons.

"An interesting move, but a pointless one!" Hiroki declared. "My two emissaries can easily crush those puny monsters!"

"They won't get the chance, because Neo Space Warp has a second effect!" Jaden announced. "When Neo Space Warp lets me successfully summon Neo-Spacians to the field, I can return the same number of level five or higher specially summoned monsters to the hand as the number of Neo-Spacians I summoned! Then, each player shuffles their current hands into their decks and draws the same number of cards!"

A strange wave of multicolored light suddenly radiated out across the field from Jaden's two monsters. Gorz and Kaien were hit by the wave and suddenly vanished from the field as if they were never there. Hiroki scowled as he drew a brand new hand.

"Well this is annoying," David grumbled as he shuffled his current hand back into his deck.

"This is all the more reason to make Jaden suffer in this duel," Kaname remarked as she drew a new hand of her own.

"I lay down a pair of face-downs and end my turn!" Jaden announced.

"Then it's my move again," David announced as he drew his next card. "I play the Continuous Spell card, Droid Factory and activate its effect! I discard The Big Saturn to summon a Droid Token to the field!"

On cue, a Droid Token like the kind David summoned in his duel against Hikari appeared on his part of the battlefield.

"I activate Cannon Soldier's effect and sacrifice my Droid Token to inflict 500 points of damage on Jaden!" David announced.

The Droid Token suddenly shattered into particles of blue light that flowed into Cannon Soldier's body. Cannon Soldier then aimed its long barrel at Jaden and fired a narrow beam of blue light at the wandering pro duelist. The shot struck Jaden in the shoulder and brought his life points down to 3500.

"You're probably expecting me to attack, right?" David asked Jaden. "Well I'm not that stupid. I'm sure you probably have some trick up your sleeve to protect those weak monsters of yours. Besides, it seems only fair that I let my two new friends have a fair shot at you. So I'll just set one card on the field and end my turn."

Hiroki drew his next card. "I discard the Summoned Skull from my hand to special summon Dark Grepher!"

On cue, the white-haired demonic form of Hiroki's Warrior Dai Grepher appeared on his part of the battlefield.

"Next I sacrifice Dark Grepher to summon a second Summoned Skull in Attack Mode!" Hiroki announced.

Dark Grepher shattered into particles of gold light as a twister of wind surrounded him. In moments the twister died away to reveal a large humanoid demon with a body covered in exposed purple muscle and white bone. A thick ribcage covered the demon's torso, and his forearms were covered in boney armor that ended with sets of three black claws. A pair of large black bat-like wings grew from the demon's back. His head was a white skull with green eyes, a fanged mouth, and a pair of thick horns that curved downward.

"Summoned Skull! Attack Flare Scarab!" Hiroki commanded. "Lightning Strike!"

The skull demon roared as bolts of yellow lightning shot from its body to a spot above his head to form a crackling ball of electricity. When the ball became large enough, the demon flung his arms forward and fired the ball down towards Flare Scarab.

"I activate my Trap, Neo Space Safe Zone!" Jaden announced. "While this card is on the field, Neo-Spacians can't be destroyed in battle or targeted by my opponent's card effects!"

Suddenly cocoon-like barriers of multicolored light formed around Flare Scarab and Air Hummingbird. Summoned Skull's ball of electricity struck the barrier around Flare Scarab, creating an explosion of fire and smoke. When the smoke cleared though, the barrier was intact and Flare Scarab was still on the field.

"Neo Space Safe Zone stays on the field until the start of my next turn," Jaden announced.

"In that case I shall set one card on the field and end my turn!" Hiroki announced.

Kaname scowled as she drew her next card. "Well… since attacking Jaden right now would be pointless, I may as well spend this turn doing my new friends here some favors. First I activate the Spell card, Cost Down and reduce the level of The Suppression Pluto in my hand by two! Then I sacrifice Renge to summon Pluto in Attack Mode!"

Renge shattered into particles of gold light as a twister of wind surrounded him. In seconds the twister died away to reveal Kaname's demon from the edge of the solar system.

"Next I activate the Spell card, Dark Designator!" Kaname announced. "This card forces my opponent to add a monster card I name from their deck to their hand! I use this card's effect on Kitami and force him to add The Grand Jupiter to his hand!"

Hiroki looked through his deck and added his Legendary Planet to his hand after finding the card near the very bottom of his deck. "Thank you very much for the assistance."

"You can pay me back right now," Kaname told him. "Because now I activate Pluto's effect! By correctly naming a card in my opponent's hand, Pluto lets me gain control of a card they control! I choose Kitami as the target of Pluto's effect! And the card I'm going to guess he has in his hand is The Grand Jupiter!"

Hiroki scowled. "You guess correctly, but then it wasn't really a guess at all."

David let out an amused chuckle. "Nice! This is the kind of teamwork I can get behind."

Kaname grinned. "I'm going to borrow your Summoned Skull for a bit."

The whip-like tendrils on Pluto's back shot across the field and pierced Summoned Skull with their blades. The skull demon shattered into particles of gold light, and a second later Summon Skull reformed on Kaname's part of the field next to Pluto.

"And now I use Pluto to attack Cannon Soldier!" Kaname announced. "Three Satellites!"

Pluto launched his tendrils straight across the field at Cannon Soldiers. The blades at the end of the whips merely bounced off Cannon Soldier's metal body.

David let out another amused chuckle as his life points dropped to 2800. "Thanks to Heavy Metal Raiders, Cannon Soldier isn't destroyed and gains ATK equal to the damage I just took. Which means its ATK is now at 2600. I gotta say Kaname, I like your style."

"Thanks," Kaname replied.

"At this moment I activate my face-down card, Fires of Doomsday!" Hiroki announced. "This card lets me summon two Doomsday Tokens to the field!"

On cue, two small one-eyed demons made of black flames burst into existence on Hiroki's part of the battlefield.

"Well, looks like we're all in prime form," Kaname observed. "I'll just end my turn here. Okay Jaden Yuki, let's see you get out of this mess."

"I knew something like this had to happen," Yubel told Jaden as she reappeared next to him. "These three are working together to beat you. Kaname now has her new ace monster on the field, and thanks to her last attack, Rabb's Cannon Soldier is all powered up. Plus Hiroki is now all set to summon The Grand Jupiter, and on his next turn he'll likely use its effect to absorb the Summoned Skull that Kaname took from him and power its ATK up to 5000! This is just the type of situation I was hoping to avoid!"

"Yeah… it's not good," Jaden agreed. "And with opponents like Kaname and Rabb involved, this isn't the kind of duel I can really get into. Still, this duel is keeping Hiroki busy, and that's exactly why we came here tonight."

Yubel sighed. "I know… but this duel has become more trouble than it's worth."

"Not to me," Jaden told her. "Shizuma and Nagisa have become very good friends of mine, and both of them have been through so much. That's why I'm going to do everything I can to make sure this night goes just the way Shizuma wants it."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I hope this chapter helped to make up for my long absence from this story. This was actually one of the parts to this story I was looking forward most to writing. In fact, this duel was one of the first events I came up with for the story when I first started developing, though I don't quite recall how the idea first formed. Incidentally, the title for this chapter was inspired by the old _Wild, Wild West_ T. . The titles for the episodes of that show were always, "Night of the... something", like "Night of the Green Terror" or "Night of Bounce Death".

Anyway, as I'm sure many of you reading this duel may have noticed, none of the new Neos and Neo-Spacian cards from Savage Strike have been used in this duel so far, and I'm afraid to say they aren't going to be. As I mentioned before the start of this chapter, I had outlined the duel for this chapter and the next long before those cards in _Savage Strike_ were even revealed. Going back to add some of those cards in would've been like major surgery. Chances are I would've had to go back and rewrite the entire duel from scratch, and I really didn't want to do that. Besides, not to toot my own horn, but I'm pretty proud of the Neo-Space support card I had already come up with for Jaden.

 **Neo Space Warp**

Quick-Play Spell

Return 2 or more of face-up "Elemental HERO" monsters you control to the deck; Special Summon an equal number of "Neo-Spacian" monsters from the deck in Defense Position with the same Attribute as the monsters returned to the deck by this card's effect. When this effect successfully resolves: You can return a number of Level 5 or higher Special Summoned monsters your opponent controls to the hand, then each player shuffles their current hand into their decks and draws an equal number of cards. You can only activate 1 "Neo Space Warp" per turn.

 **Neo Space Safe Zone**

Continuous Trap

While this card is face-up on the field, "Neo-Spacian" monsters you control cannot be destroyed by battle or targeted by your opponent's card effects. Destroy this card during your first Standby Phase after activation.

Of the two Neo-Space cards of my own creation seen so far, Neo Space Warp is the one I'm most pleased with. Anyway, I'll probably work at least a few of the new cards from _Savage Strike_ into the later duels in this story. For now though, stay tuned for the exciting conclusion to this epic four-way duel. Until then, please review and let me know what you think.


	15. Night of the Proposal, Part 2

**Author's Note:** I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed the previous chapter. It really means a lot that so many people are following this story after I ended up putting it on hiatus. With that, here's the conclusion to our exciting four-way duel.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX or Strawberry Panic.

* * *

Chapter 14: Night of the Proposal, Part 2

Alexis was standing guard at the very outer edge of the area where Shizuma's temporary restaurant had been set up. From everything she'd been hearing, the dinner with Nagisa was going smoothly, and not a soul had come near to intrude on the private event. Despite all that Alexis was still on edge, and it had nothing to do with the dinner. She could sense that something was off about Jaden's duel against Hiroki thanks to her connection to him through Yubel. Alexis could feel the pressure the two seemed to be under, and it was starting to tighten around her like a corset.

As Alexis tried to continue her little patrol, Atticus and Reggie suddenly came up to her from opposite directions.

"Well all's been quiet on my end so far," Atticus reported. "Any problems on your end?"

"No one's come into my area," Reggie answered. "Not surprising though, since this doesn't seem like the type of place that many students would come to during the night."

"How 'bout you sis?" Atticus asked Alexis.

"Um… I haven't run into anyone either," Alexis answered.

Atticus quickly realized that something was off. "Hey. Everything okay Alexis?"

"It's Jaden. I don't know why, but it looks like his duel against Hiroki is turning out to be harder than we expected," Alexis explained.

"How can you tell?" Reggie asked.

"It's Yubel. Jaden and I are connected through her," Alexis answered. "I can feel that both of them are under a lot of stress."

"Well that's unexpected. That Hiroki kid seemed like kind of a lightweight," Atticus remarked.

"Is there any way you can find out exactly what's going on?" Reggie asked.

"…There might be. Just give me a moment," Alexis told them before closing her eyes.

The other two watched as Alexis took a few deep breaths to calm down and focus. As she did, her mind reached out to Yubel.

 _'Yubel… please answer me,'_ Alexis called mentally. _'What's happening to you and Jaden?'_

 _'Lexie!'_ Yubel's voice responded in Alexis's mind. _'The plan to keep Hiroki busy went south in a big way! Right when Jaden tried to challenge him, Rabb and Kaname both showed up to try and get some payback for the times Jaden beat them. We couldn't get rid of the two, so Hiroki suggested we have a four-way duel. Right now those three are starting to gang up on us.'_

 _'What? I'll be right there!'_ Alexis told her. _'Just try and keep Jaden calm and focused!'_

 _'No! You have to stay right where you are until Shizuma pops the question!'_ Yubel responded. ' _The night has to go smoothly, or else everything Jaden's just gone through will be for nothing! And Jaden really wants Shizuma's proposal to be a success.'_

Alexis let out a heavy sigh. _'Okay. But the moment Shizuma finishes proposing, I'm heading straight for you two.'_

"Um, sis?" Atticus asked with a raised eyebrow. "What the heck are you doing?"

Alexis opened her eyes. "I managed to talk to Yubel with my mind. Don't ask me how. Anyway, Jaden's duel with Hiroki turned into a four-way battle against Hiroki, Rabb and Kaname."

"Seriously? How'd that happen?" Atticus asked.

"Apparently Kaname and Rabb followed Jaden to where Hiroki was and challenged him," Alexis explained. "And since neither would take no for an answer, Jaden ended up taking on all three of them at once. From what Yubel just told me, it looks like they're starting to gang up on him."

"Dammit David!" Reggie cursed. "That creep picked the worst possible time for a stunt like this."

"Kaname's that girl with the Dark World deck, right?" Atticus recalled. "That can't be an easy opponent for Jaden. We should probably go and help him."

"No. Yubel wants us to stay here until Shizuma proposes to Nagisa," Alexis told them. "Jaden wants this night to go off without a hitch for those two. So we're going to stay right here and make sure it does. Besides, I'm sure that no matter what, Jaden can beat those three."

* * *

Jaden drew his next card. "With the start of my turn, Neo Space Safe Zone is destroyed!"

On cue, the barriers of multicolored light enshrouding Flare Scarab and Air Hummingbird shattered apart.

"Now I activate Air Hummingbird's effect and use it to gain 500 life points for every card in Kaname's hand!" Jaden announced.

"Sorry, but no," David declared. "I activate my Trap card, Killer Satellite! When my opponent activates a monster effect while I have a Dark Machine on the field, Killer Satellite negates that effect, destroys that monster, and deals damage to my opponent equal to that monster's ATK!"

Suddenly a massive beam of red light shot down from the night sky and struck Air Hummingbird. The humanoid bird was vaporized in an instant, and Jaden's life points dropped to 2700.

"Consider that a thank you for the little favor you did before," David told Kaname.

"How kind of you," Kaname replied.

"I really don't like how those two are getting along so well," Yubel remarked.

"I lay down a facedown and end my turn!" Jaden announced.

David drew his next card. "I equip Cannon Soldier with the Spell card, Cannon Booster!"

Suddenly a large red metal pack appeared on the back of Cannon Soldier. Attached to this pack at the top were two more long narrow barrels that went over the robot's shoulders.

"When a monster equipped with Cannon Booster inflicts effect damage to my opponent, Cannon Booster deals an additional 1000 points of damage on top of it," David announced. "Next I activate the effect of Droid Factory and discard a second Cannon Soldier from my hand to summon another Droid Token!"

On cue, another droid appeared on David's part of the field next to Cannon Soldier.

"Now I activate Cannon Soldier's effect and sacrifice my Droid Token to inflict another 500 points of damage on Jaden's life points!" David announced. "Plus another 1000 points thanks to the effect of Cannon Booster!"

The Droid Token shattered into particles of blue light that flowed into Cannon Soldier's body. The robot then fired beams from all three of its cannons that struck Jaden and dropped his life points to 1200.

"If I could, I'd use Cannon Soldier's effect to sacrifice itself and just finish you off right now. But unfortunately, a monster equipped with Cannon Booster can't be used as tribute," David informed Jaden. "It's just as well though. I want to draw out your suffering and humiliation for as long as possible. Cannon Soldier! Blow that damn bug of Jaden's off the field! Artillery Shot!"

"I activate my Trap, Escape to Neo Space!" Jaden announced. "When a Neo-Spacian is attacked, this card banishes that Neo-Spacian from the field to negate that attack!"

Cannon Soldier opened fired with all three of its cannons. Before the beams could hit their target though, Flare Scarab jumped high into the air and vanished from sight. Meanwhile, the blast from Cannon Soldier ended up striking the ground where Flare Scarab once stood.

"Flare Scarab returns to the field at the start of my second turn after Escape to Neo Space was activated," Jaden announced.

"Well that's rather annoying," David remarked. "Still, the fact that you're relying on such desperate defensive moves only shows how much you're struggling. I'll just end my turn here. Kitami! You're up! Try and knock him out!"

Hiroki nodded and drew his next card. "First I activate Pot of Greed and draw two more cards! Then I sacrifice both my Doomsday Tokens to summon The Grand Jupiter!"

Both token monsters shattered into particles of gold light as a massive twister surrounded them. In seconds the twister faded to reveal Hiroki's planet monster.

"I activate Jupiter's effect and discard two cards to equip him with the Summoned Skull that Ms. Kaname took from me before!" Hiroki announced.

Jupiter fired a beam of red light from the planet embedded in his chest at Summoned Skull. The skull demon was quickly sucked into the planet, boosting Jupiter's ATK to 5000.

"I equip Jupiter with United We Stand, raising his ATK to 5800!" Hiroki announced.

"Well… looks like that's all she wrote," David remarked.

"Personally I would've preferred to finish Jaden off myself, but I'm fine with this result," Kaname declared.

"Jupiter! Attack Jaden Yuki directly!" Hiroki commanded. "Great Red Spot!"

Hiroki's dark warrior fired a massive beam of red light across the field at Jaden. The blast created a huge explosion when it struck, but a few moments later when the smoke cleared, it was revealed that Jaden's life points were untouched. Not only that, a new monster had appeared on Jaden's part of the field. It was a small white humanoid creature resembling a fetus, suspended in a sort of transparent silver cocoon. The fetus had black hands and feet. Its face had large green insect-like eyes, while nothing could be told of its nose and mouth. From the creature's forehead grew a single long white spike that curved backward.

"What the hell?" a stunned David cursed.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Kaname protested.

"What did you do?" Hiroki demanded to know.

"When I'm attacked directly, I'm able to special summon Proto Neos from my hand in Defense Mode!" Jaden explained. "Not only that. Proto Neos can't be destroyed in battle twice per turn!"

"Dammit!" Hiroki cursed. "In that case, I end my turn! And by doing so, I use Jupiter's effect to bring back Summoned Skull as a monster under my control!"

A ball of red light flew from the planet in Jupiter's chest and struck the ground on Hiroki's part of the field, forming into the skull demon.

"That was way too close," Yubel told Jaden. "And we're nowhere near out of the woods yet. Jupiter's ATK only went down to 4100 thanks to United We Stand."

"It may look bad, but I'm not giving up," Jaden declared. "I'm going to keep this duel going as long as I can so Shizuma gets her chance to propose."

* * *

Nagisa and Shizuma had just finished the desert course of their meal. The redhead had been extremely satisfied with how everything had turned out, especially the sweets. At that moment, Nagisa couldn't imagine how the night could get any better.

"That dinner was amazing, Shizuma," Nagisa declared. "I had no idea Ms. Tabitha was such a good cook. You really went all out."

"I want only the best for you," Shizuma told her.

"I would still like to know one thing though. What's the occasion for all this?" Nagisa asked.

Shizuma took a deep breath. "Nagisa… that moment we first met here by this lake, I never imagined that you would change my life so much. I told you that when Kaori died… my world lost all color, but you brought all that color back. Though it took me a little too long to realize it. Thanks to you, I was able to start living again. And because of you I've also gained tremendous strength. What I'm trying to say is… I can no longer picture my life without you."

Just as Nagisa opened her mouth to say something, Shizuma pulled out a small box and opened it, revealing a diamond ring. The sight left the redhead totally speechless.

"Nagisa Aoi… will you marry me?"

Nagisa began to tear up and a large smile formed on her face. "Yes! Yes I will!"

Shizuma smiled and placed the ring on Nagisa's finger. Afterwards, she leaned across the table and placed a firm kiss on the redhead's lips. Not far away, Miyuki, Tamao, Hikari and Amane were all watching with smiles on their faces.

"I'm so happy it all worked out," Hikari spoke as a tear came to her eye.

"Did you really think that Nagisa would turn her down?" Amane asked.

"No, but… a moment like this was still pretty suspenseful," Hikari answered.

"I suppose we can tell Ms. Rhodes and the others they can leave now," Miyuki decided.

"That's good. I heard from her brother earlier that something's gone wrong with Jaden's duel," Tamao informed her. "I hope it's nothing too serious."

* * *

Kaname scowled as she drew her next card. "I equip Pluto with the Spell card, Dark World Axe!"

Materializing in Pluto's right hand was a large silver and grey double-sided axe with a long ornate handle with a silver skull at the top and a spear tip at the end. On each side of the axe blade was a carving of a demonic face with a large fanged mouth.

"The monster equipped with Dark World Axe becomes a Dark World monster and gains 700 ATK!" Kaname announced. "Which means that right now, Pluto has an ATK of 3300! Pluto! Attack Summoned Skull! Three Satellites!"

Kaname's demon from the edge of the solar system launched its tendrils across the field at Summoned Skull. The skull demon was pierced in multiple spots by Pluto's blades and shattered into particles of gold light. Hiroki's life points took a drop to 1100, while Jupiter's ATK fell to 3300.

"When a monster equipped with Dark World Axe inflicts battle damage to my opponent, I discard one card from my hand!" Kaname announced. "The card I discarded was Goldd, Wu Lord of Dark World! And when Goldd is discarded, I can summon him to the field!"

On cue, Kaname's golden axe-wielding demon materialized on her part of the battlefield next to Pluto.

"Ms. Kaname! Why did you attack me?" a stunned Hiroki asked. "I thought we were on the same side?"

"Why? You really need to ask me that you little twit?" Kaname responded. "First of all, attacking you gave me an advantage. Second of all, we were never truly working together to begin with. I've only been using you and Rabb to put Jaden Yuki at a disadvantage. The main reason I attacked you just now though is because you screwed up! You blew it on your last turn, and made it useless for me to attack Jaden! As far as I'm concerned, your usefulness to me is at an end!"

"Gotta say, I agree a hundred percent with everything Kaname just said," David coolly admitted. "You blew it, kid! If I were you, I'd surrender on your next turn and leave the rest of this to the people who actually know what they're doing."

"Hiroki! Kaname's not the only one who's disappointed in you," Jaden told him. "I'm disappointed in you too. I came here hoping to have a one-on-one duel just between the two of us. And from what I've seen, it would've been a great one. You've really improved from that first time we dueled against one another, so much so that I think you'd make a good rival for me. But you just had to involve Rabb and Kaname in our duel and gang up on me with them."

"I… I only suggested we have this four-way duel to stop the argument that had broken out between David and Ms. Kaname!" Hiroki told him.

"Was it really just that, or did you make that suggestion because you were afraid you couldn't beat me on your own?" Jaden asked.

"He might be onto something," David told Hiroki. "You have some potential kid, I'll admit that. But from what I've seen of your dueling, you're mostly just bluster. All your moves are a desperate attempt to prove you're a tiger, but the reality is you're nothing but a mewling little kitten."

"Hiroki. I know that a lot of what you do is to try and impress Nagisa," Jaden continued. "But I can tell you now that she wouldn't be impressed by anything you've done tonight."

At these words, Hiroki looked away from Jaden in shame.

"If this little chat is over now, I end my turn," Kaname announced.

"Hey Yubel, that stuff you had me say to Hiroki was kinda harsh," Jaden whispered.

"Perhaps, but it needed to be said," Yubel told him. "Besides, we needed to do something to widen the crack in that sap's teamwork with Rabb and Kaname. Now that it seems like we've ruined their little partnership, let's take them out!"

Jaden nodded as he drew his next card. "At the start of my next turn after Proto Neos has been special summoned, I can sacrifice him to special summon Elemental Hero Neos from my deck!"

The fetus inside the cocoon began to shine and gave off rays of white light that cracked through the cocoon. Then in a blinding flash, the cocoon shattered apart. The light died away to reveal Neos in his fully mature form.

"I activate the Spell card, Last Will from Neo Space!" Jaden announced. "By banishing a Neo-Spacian from my Graveyard, Last Will from Neo Space lets me draw a number of cards equal to that monster's level! I banish Air Hummingbird to draw three more cards!"

The cards that Jaden pulled from his deck briefly burned with a flash of crimson flames.

"I activate the Spell card, Primal Awakening!" Jaden announced. "When Neos is on the field, Primal Awakening lets me add a certain Ritual Monster and Ritual Spell to my hand! Next I activate the Ritual Spell I brought out with Primal Awakening, Rite of the Primal Flame!"

Two ornate golden torches suddenly appeared to the left and right of Neos. The heads of both torches bore the symbol that was on the space hero's chest. A red circle lined with strange ancient text then appeared on the ground around the Neos' feet.

"Ordinarily I'd have to sacrifice monsters totaling level eight or more to summon the monster I'm about to bring out," Jaden continued. "But Rite of the Primal Flame also lets me use Neos as the entire tribute cost for the ritual. I sacrifice Elemental Hero Neos to Ritual Summon his ancestral form, Primal Neos!"

Two small red fireballs shot from the torch flames into the gem on Neos' chest. A pillar of red flames shot up from the ground inside the circle and completely engulfed the white hero of space. In moments the flames subsided and the torches used for the ritual vanished. Much of Neos' body had turned light blue. The only parts that had remained white were the front of his neck and the curved horn on his head, and the undersides of his shoulder pads. The red lines on the front of the hero's torso and legs had taken on a more curved appearance.

Grey spikes had grown on Neos' shoulders and he had wide bronze-colored bracelets on his wrists. Hanging down around his waist like a skirt was a tattered brown piece of cloth. With the cloth was a grey belt that had a golden buckle in the shape of a human skull with horns. On his feet, Neos now wore a pair of knee-high boots lined with brown fur. The gem in the center of Neos' chest had turned pinkish-red and had taken on a heart shape. Five red markings in the shape of flames adorned the warrior's chest around them gem, and he had four more flame-shaped markings on his arms. Long orange hair had grown down from the back of Neos' head, and his face had taken on a mask-like appearance with a mouth lined with flat white teeth.

"Damn!" David quietly cursed. "Things have really gone south now."

"Kaname! You're going down first!" Jaden declared as he pointed at her. Kaname let out a startled gasp as Jaden's eyes suddenly turned to their Yubel colors. "I equip Primal Neos with the Spell card, Primal Surge!"

The more atavistic form of Neos raised his right fist, which suddenly began to burn with crimson flames. Neos' eyes also began to glow with a burning crimson light, as did the crystal in the center of his chest.

"When Primal Neos is equipped with Primal Surge, he's able to make two attacks during the same turn!" Jaden announced. "Not only that, when Neos destroys a Dark monster, Primal Surge deals damage to my opponent equal to that monster's original ATK! Neos! Attack Pluto! Primeval Neos Force!"

"You're forgetting one thing!" Kaname told him. "That caveman hero of yours only has 2800 ATK, while Pluto has 3300 ATK thanks to Axe of Dark World!"

"Except when Primal Neos attacks a monster with higher ATK, he gains 1000 during that battle!" Jaden told her.

Primal Neos charged in and delivered a devastating punch to Pluto's chest, blasting a massive hole through the demon's torso with a stream of flames from his fist. The demon collapsed to the ground before shattering into particles of gold light. Meanwhile, Kaname's life points took a huge plunge to 900.

"When Primal Neos destroys a Dark monster in battle, I get to draw one card!" Jaden announced. "Neos! Attack Goldd and end this! Primeval Neos Force!"

Neos let out a savage roar before moving in and delivering another devastating punch that blasted a hole through Goldd's chest. The blast of flames from the hero's fist also struck Kaname and hurled her all the way into a metal tree behind where she had been standing. As the dark-haired girl slid to the ground, Goldd shattered into particles of gold light, and Kaname's life points dropped to zero, eliminating her from the duel.

Jaden let out a startled gasp as his eyes returned to normal. "Oh crap! I didn't mean to hit her that hard. I hope she's okay."

"It looks like you just knocked her out," Yubel assured him. "This is why I don't want you dueling her though."

Jaden nodded. "I end my turn! And at the end of the turn, Primal Surge is destroyed!"

On cue, the flames coming from Neos' fist and the crystal in the center of his chest subsided, and his eyes stopped glowing.

"I guess what they say is true," David remarked as he drew his next card. "If you want something done right, you've got to do it yourself. I activate the Spell card, Recall and Repair! By sending a Dark Machine I control back to the deck, I can special summon a level five or higher Dark Machine from my Graveyard! I return Cannon Soldier to the deck to summon The Big Saturn."

A pillar of red light suddenly shot up from the ground around Cannon Soldier. In moments the light faded to reveal David's ace monster on the field.

"I activate Saturn's effect!" David announced. "I discard one card and pay 1000 life points to raise Saturn's ATK by 1000 until the end of the turn!"

As David's life points dropped to 1800, Saturn assumed his battle mode. The planet-killing robot's ATK shot up to 3800.

"Saturn! Blow that damn Primal Neos off the battlefield!" David ordered. "End of Cosmos!"

"I activate my Trap, Negate Attack!" Jaden announced as Saturn began firing all his weapons. "This card cancels Saturn's attack and ends the Battle Phase!"

A small vortex suddenly formed in front of Neos, pulling in all of Saturn's missiles and laser beams. When Saturn's attack finally ended, the vortex closed up and vanished.

"You little bastard!" David cursed. "That's one of the cards you set during your first turn! You've been saving it all this time?"

Jaden smiled and shrugged. "What can I say? It just didn't seem like the right time to use it before."

David grumbled something under his breath and clenched his fist. "Fine then! I end my turn! And because of that, Saturn's ATK returns to normal!"

On cue, Saturn resumed his original form.

David turned to Hiroki. "Okay kid! Let's see if you can make up for the way you screwed up before."

Hiroki drew his next card. "I equip Jupiter with the Spell card, Malefic Crystal!"

Appearing around Jupiter's waist was a silver belt. In the center of the buckle was a large spiked crystal that was totally pitch-black. As soon as the belt appeared, Jupiter began to give off a sinister black aura.

"A monster equipped with Malefic Crystal gains 800 ATK, which means Jupiter now has an ATK of 4100!" Hiroki announced.

"That outta do it," David said with a smirk. "Now finish him off."

"No Rabb… the one I'm going to finish off… is you!" Hiroki declared. "Jupiter! Attack Big Saturn! Great Red Spot!"

"You little punk! Jupiter may have been powered up, but his ATK isn't quite enough to finish me off!" David told him. "And thanks to Heavy Metal Raiders, you'll only be making Saturn stronger!"

"Afraid not! When a monster equipped with Malefic Crystal attacks a monster that's been special summoned like Saturn, that monster loses 1000 ATK during the battle!"

"What!" an outranged David exclaimed.

Jupiter fired a blast of red light from the planet in the center of his chest at Saturn. The giant robot withstood the attack, but David's life points still plummeted from 1800 to zero. Suddenly Saturn exploded and knocked David onto his back. With David eliminated from the duel, the clearing returned to normal with his Field Spell having been taken off the board.

"Looks like it's just you and me now, Hiroki," Jaden observed.

"Jaden… you were right before when you said I might've teamed up with Rabb and Ms. Kaname because I was afraid to face you on my own," Hiroki admitted. "I've been desperately trying to prove to Nagisa that I'm a man that she can rely on. But… maybe I've been trying harder to prove that more to myself then to her. So to do that, I'm going to finish this duel on my own!"

"Now we're talking!" Jaden declared with a huge grin.

"I have no other cards in my hand, and I have no other monsters that can attack, which means I must end my turn here," Hiroki announced. "But it seems clear that I will be the victor in this duel."

"Think so, huh?" Jaden asked as he drew his next card. "At this time, Flare Scarab returns to the field thanks to the effect to Escape to Neo Space!"

What appeared to be a star suddenly twinkled in the sky, but suddenly Flare Scarab dropped down from that twinkling point of light and landed on the field next to Neos.

"And now I return Primal Neos and Flare Scarab to the deck for a Contact Fusion!" Jaden announced. "I summon Primal Flare Neos!"

Both Primal Neos and Flare Scarab leapt back into the sky and quickly disappeared from sight. A few seconds later, Primal Neos dropped back onto the field in a new form. His blue skin had turned to the color of dried lava, while the lines on his body glowed orange. Around the crystal in the center of his chest he had a glowing orange marking in the shape of a flame. Neos' long red hear had disappeared, and covering his head was a helmet that resembled the cobra-hood headdress of an Egyptian pharaoh, but with a pair of long curved narrow horns resembling the tusks of a beetle. On the warrior's back was a pair of red wings that seemed to be made of fire, covered by the split halves of an insect shell. A glittering gold-colored cloth hung down around Neos' waist from a silver belt with an Egyptian scarab on the buckle.

"Primal Flare Neos gains 400 ATK for every Spell and Trap card on the field!" Jaden announced. "Right now the only Spell cards on the field are Jupiter's two Equip Spells, so Neos' ATK is at 3600. But I'm about to change that by playing the Field Spell, Skyscraper!"

Suddenly the forest clearing was instantly transformed into a large city with buildings that towered over everything. Jaden and Hiroki's duel now took place in the middle of a wide street.

"Now Flare Neos' ATK is at 4000!" Jaden announced. "I attack Jupiter with Neos! Primal Sun Shot!"

Neos flew high into the air and raised his muscular arms above his head. A ball of orange-red light with tiny ribbon-like flares shooting off it suddenly ignited to life between the warrior's two hands.

"Hold on! Neos may have 4000 ATK now, but Jupiter has an ATK of 4100 thanks to his Equip cards!" Hiroki reminded him. "And since Primal Flare Neos isn't an Elemental Hero, he doesn't gain the ATK boost that an Elemental Hero would get from Skyscraper when attacking a monster with higher ATK points!"

"True! But I didn't play Skyscraper to use its effect," Jaden revealed. "I did it to boost Neos' ATK. Plus I don't need Skyscraper's effect because when Primal Flare Neos attacks a Dark monster, that monster loses 600 ATK for each Spell and Trap my opponent controls during the battle! Since you have those two equip cards on the field, Jupiter loses 1200 ATK!"

The fireball that Neos had conjured had quickly grown into a miniature sun almost twice the size of the warrior's body. Once it had finished grown, Neos flung the ball down towards Jupiter. Hiroki could only watch as the ball struck its target and created a blinding flash. When the light from the explosion faded, Jupiter was gone and Hiroki's life points had dropped to zero. With the duel at an end, Neos vanished from the field and the city had transformed back into the clearing where the duel had started.

"That's game!" Jaden declared as he did his trademark victory pose.

"Weren't you going to drag this duel out for as long as possible so that Shizuma could have time to propose?" Yubel reminded him.

Jaden flinched at the reminder of his mission. "Oh shoot! I just blew everything, didn't I?"

Yubel chuckled. "Relax. I happen to know from Lexie that Shizuma successfully popped the question."

"Oh… did Nagisa say yes?" Jaden asked.

"Do you really have to ask?" Yubel responded as if the answer were obvious.

Suddenly Jaden heard a groan, which caused him to look and see Kaname getting off the ground. "Oh crap! Kaname, are you okay? I'm real sorry about that last attack before. I really didn't mean to hit you that hard."

"Cram it," Kaname responded. "I don't need your concern or your sympathy. Mark my words though, Jaden Yuki. I will pay you back for this and everything else!"

"That goes double for me," David spoke as he also got up from the ground and dusted himself off. "And as for you Kitami, you're now officially on my hit list."

Hiroki ignored David and walked up to Jaden. "That was a remarkable performance, Jaden Yuki. You've shown me that I still have a long way to go to get stronger. Hopefully I can face you again in an honorable duel."

"I'd like that," Jaden replied, and with that the two of them shook hands.

"Jaden!" a familiar voice called. Everyone looked to see that Alexis had arrived with Reggie and Atticus.

"Oh! Hi Lex," Jaden responded.

"Are you okay? I know all about the duel from Yubel," a concerned Alexis revealed. "I could sense you two were under a lot of pressure before."

"Relax Lex. It all turned out okay," Jaden assured her. "And Yubel told me that it all went well on your end too."

Meanwhile, Reggie walked over to David. "You're not only a creep, but a pest."

"And what the hell's that supposed to mean?" David asked.

"Jaden came here to keep Hiroki busy while the rest of us did something important," Reggie told him. "But you just had to barge in and nearly screw everything up."

"Why the hell should I care?" David responded. "My grudge with Yuki is way more important than whatever plans all of you had."

"You know Rabb, one of these days I'm really going to have to teach you a lesson," Atticus declared as he walked up next to Reggie and crossed his arms.

David pulled down the brim of his hat and turned on his heel. "I don't need this crap. I'm heading to bed."

"Me too," Kaname spoke as she began to head in a similar direction. "Momomi is probably wondering where I am anyway."

"Hey Kaname," David spoke, getting her attention. "You're a pretty decent duelist. I have to admit, I really like your style."

"You're not so bad yourself, Rabb," Kaname responded. "See you around."

With that, David and Kaname headed out of the clearing. Practically everyone let out a sigh of relief as they left.

"Did those two actually become friends during that duel?" Alexis asked.

"I think so," Jaden confirmed.

"Well that's just terrific," Atticus sarcastically remarked.

"You know what they say about birds of a feather," Reggie pointed out.

"Jaden!" another familiar voice spoke. Jaden and the others looked to see that Nagisa had arrived with Shizuma.

"Hey guys. What're you doing here?" a surprised Jaden asked.

"Nagisa insisted on seeing you," Shizuma explained.

"I overheard from Tamao and Miyuki that you were involved in a difficult duel and got them to tell us where it was happening," Nagisa explained. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. It's all under control now," Jaden assured her.

"Nagisa!" Hiroki spoke, getting the redhead's attention. "What're you doing out here all dressed up."

"Oh! Uh… Hiroki," Nagisa responded. "You're here too?"

"Yes. I was one of the opponents Jaden was dueling," Hiroki explained.

Shizuma walked over to Alexis to whisper something to her. "He's the guy I wanted Jaden to distract, right?"

Alexis nodded. "It may not have been the best idea for you guys to come here."

"You didn't answer my question, Nagisa," Hiroki continued. "What're you and Hanazono doing here in those clothes?"

"Well, I guess you might as well know," Nagisa began before taking a deep breath. "Shizuma and I were out having a romantic evening, and… look here."

Nagisa presented to Hiroki the hand wearing Shizuma's engagement ring. The sight of it caused a look of what almost seemed like panic to appear on Hiroki's face.

"Shizuma and I are engaged now, Hiroki," Nagisa told him. "I know how you feel about me Hiroki, but… honestly I could never feel the same way about you. You could beat Shizuma and a hundred other Hero users, and my feelings wouldn't change. Shizuma's the one I'll always love most, no matter what. I've always considered you a good friend though, Hiroki. I hope we can stay that way."

Nagisa's words caused Hiroki to stagger back a step, and all the color to drain from his face. Jaden had never before seen someone have their heart ripped out of their chest, but he could say now that it wasn't a pretty sight.

"Harsh," Atticus quietly remarked.

Reggie shrugged. "This couldn't happen any other way."

"I see… yes," Hiroki spoke as he tried to compose himself. "Well… I'm happy for you, Nagisa. Hanazono, please take good care of her."

With that, Hiroki left the clearing with his head hung low. Jaden and Alexis watched with a look of pity as we walked away.

"Best that Nagisa just ripped the Band-Aid off now then let the poor sap continued to think he had hope," Yubel told the couple.

Shizuma put a hand on Nagisa's shoulder. "You okay?"

"Yeah. It's just never fun having to dump someone," Nagisa answered. "Of course this went way better then when I dumped Tamao."

"Weren't you under the influence of one of Tenma's Wicked Gods when you dumped her?" Shizuma recalled.

"Yes. That's why I said this went better," Nagisa replied as she turned around and took hold of Shizuma's arm. "Look, let's head back to the villa. I want to show you just how happy I am that you proposed to me."

Shizuma smiled and blushed. "I was hoping you'd want to do that."

Jaden and the others simply waited for a few moments and watched as Nagisa and Shizuma left.

"Rhodie and I better get back to the lake," Reggie decided. "We told Miyuki and the others we'd help them dismantle the restaurant."

"Jaden and I are going to head back to the villa," Alexis told her. "I'm sure Jaden's a bit wiped out after a duel like that."

With that, the two couples left the clearing in different directions. Jaden and Alexis took their time walking in order to give Shizuma and Nagisa more time to get back.

"I feel bad for Hiroki, but I'm glad everything worked out for Shizuma and Nagisa," Jaden spoke.

"Me too," Alexis replied. "So… when are you going to propose to me?"

Jaden flinched and froze in his tracks. "Uh… w-well I… uh… I guess I… n-never thought about it, but… uh… uh…"

Alexis began to chuckle. "Relax Jaden, I'm not pressuring you. But I'm sure you'll do it when you're ready, won't you?"

Jaden quickly calmed down, smiled and did his trademark victory pose. "You can count on it."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I'm pretty happy with how this chapter turned out, though I ended up having to make a few corrections to this half of the duel as I was writing it because I discovered I made a few errors related to both card effects and simple logic. Anyway, here are the cards of my own design that showed up in this half of the duel. First we have the new cards used by Jaden.

 **Proto Neos**

LIGHT/Warrior/Effect/4/ATK 1250/DEF 2000

You can Special Summon this card from your hand in Defense Position when an opponent's monster attacks you directly. This card cannot be destroyed in battle twice per turn. During your next Standby Phase after this card was Special Summoned, you can Tribute this card; Special Summon 1 "Elemental HERO Neos" from your hand or deck.

 **Primal Flare Neos**

FIRE/Warrior/Fusion/Effect/8/ATK 2800/DEF 2500

"Primal Neos" + "Neo-Spacian Flare Scarab"

This card can only be summoned from the Extra Deck by returning the above monsters to your deck (You do not use "Polymerization"). This card gains 400 ATK for each Spell/Trap Card on the field. If this card attacks a DARK monster, that monster loses 600 ATK for each Spell/Trap Card your opponent controls during the Damage Step only. This card returns to the Extra Deck during the End Phase. When this card returns to the Extra Deck, you can Special Summon one "Elemental HERO Neos" from your deck or Graveyard.

 **Primal Surge**

Equip Spell

Equip only to "Primal Neos". The equipped monster can attack twice during each Battle Phase. If the equipped monster destroys a DARK monster by battle, inflict damage equal to the destroyed monster's original ATK. Destroy this card during the End Phase.

 **Last Will from Neo Space**

Spell Card

Banish 1 "Neo-Spacian" monster from your Graveyard; draw a number of cards from your deck equal to the level of the monster banished by this card's effect. You can only activate 1 "Last Will from Neo Space" per turn.

 **Escape to Neo Space**

Trap Card

Activate when a "Neo-Spacian" monster you control is attacked: Negate the attack and banish that "Neo-Spacian" monster from the field. Special summon the monster banished by this card's effect during your second Standby Phase after this card's activation.

Proto Neos is the card from this chapter I'm most proud of. The inspiration for it came from the Chrysalis monsters used to summon the Neo-Spacians. It made sense that Neos would have a similar pre-evolution. Of course the inspiration for part of Proto Neos' effect came from the warrior monsters used by Yusei in 5D's. As for Primal Flare Neos, I couldn't help but have another Primal form of the original Neos Fusions show up some place in this story. I know I've gotten reviews in the past saying that I should focus more on simple Neo-Spacian support, but if I failed to give out the whole set of Primal Neos Fusions, I'd be no better than Konami when they suddenly discontinued the NEX forms of the Neo-Spacians.

Now let's turn to the new cards used by the antagonists in this duel. We'll cover David's first, since he used the most new cards.

 **Cannon Booster**

Equip Spell

Equip only to a DARK Machine monster. Once per turn, when the equipped monster inflicts effect damage to your opponent, inflict an additional 1000 points of damage. A monster equipped with this card cannot be used as tribute.

 **Recall and Repair**

Spell Card

Return 1 DARK Machine monster you control to the deck: Special Summon 1 level 5 or higher DARK Machine monster from your Graveyard. You can only activate 1 "Recall and Repair" per turn.

 **Killer Satellite**

Counter Trap

Activate when an opponent's monster effect activates while you control a DARK Machine monster: Negate that effect and destroy that monster, then inflict damage to your opponent equal to that monster's original ATK.

I made Cannon Booster specifically with Cannon Soldier in mind. The effect at the end that prevents the equipped monster from being tributed was something I put in at the last minute to correct one of those little errors in logic I mentioned. Cannon Soldier's kind of a nasty card because it can use its burn effect multiple times, or at least it could. I can't remember if Konami ever reworded its effect or not. In any case, it occurred to me as I was writing this chapter that David could've simply sacrificed Cannon Soldier with its own effect and deal an extra 1500 points of damage after sacrificing that Droid Token, thus wiping Jaden out.

Repair and Recall was a card I made up on the fly to correct an error in logic regarding Hiroki's attack on David. At the time, I thought it would've made more sense for Hiroki to have Jupiter attack Cannon Soldier instead of Saturn, so I made that card to remove Cannon Soldier from the equation and give Hiroki only one option for an attack. Of course I realize now that such a thing was unnecessary, since Malefic Crystal only applies to specially summoned monsters. Then again, having David use Recall and Repair to bring Saturn back from the Graveyard was a little more original than just having him use Monster Reborn.

We have two more cards left to look at. First there's the Equip Spell Kaname used on Pluto.

 **Axe of Dark World**

Equip Spell

Equip only to a DARK Fiend monster. The equipped monster gains 700 ATK and is treated as a "Dark World" monster. When the monster equipped with this card inflicts battle damage to your opponent; discard 1 card from your hand.

This was just something I made up to give Pluto a little more synergy with the Dark World monsters. Lastly, we have the previously mentioned Malefic Crystal that Hiroki equipped to Jupiter.

 **Malefic Crystal**

Equip Spell

Equip only to a DARK monster. The equipped monster gains 800 ATK. When the equipped monster attacks a Special Summoned monster, that monster loses 1000 ATK during the Damage Step only.

Nothing incredibly special about this card; just something I made up on the fly to make Jupiter strong enough to wipe out all of David's life points. The name was inspired by the Malefic Black Crystal from the Black Moon arc of _Sailor Moon_.

That pretty much covers it. There may have been a few bumps in the road to getting this chapter finished, but I'm still very pleased with out this and the last chapter turned out. The part I'm actually pleased with most is the interesting friendship that seemed to form between David and Kaname as I was writing this thing. I'm actually now thinking of doing some sort of sequel or side story involving David, Kaname and Momomi. Anyway, I'm not sure when I'll have the next chapter up because I need to figure out what I want to happen for the next duel, but I'll try to get it up as soon as I can.

Until next time, please review and let me know what you think.


	16. The Mackenzie Name, Part 1

**Author's Note:** Before we get into this next chapter, I should mention that I made a small mistake in the last chapter regarding the effect of Primal Neos. The error has since been corrected though, and it really didn't alter anything that happened in the duel. It is a little disheartening to have forgotten the effects of one of my own cards though.

Anyway, this next chapter ended up taking a really long time to get off the ground. I had to totally revise what I originally had planned in the outline. Of course this next part of the story has always been something of a challenge to me. Anyway, I'll let all of you judge how it turned out.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX or Strawberry Panic.

* * *

Chapter 15: The Mackenzie Name, Part 1

A week had gone by since Shizuma had proposed to Nagisa, and word of their impending marriage had quickly spread across the island like wildfire. Yet in the shadow of this happy occasion, Jaden and Alexis could still sense an evil at work on the island. The Light of Destruction was lurking beneath the surface, and for the past three nights Alexis, Yubel and Jaden had felt when it breached, yet they could not tell exactly what it was up to. They needed to identify what form the Light had taken this time as soon as possible, and they also needed to figure out how the Legendary Planet cards seemed to fit into the equation. Since Pegasus was insistent on being tight-lipped on how the Planet cards were involved, Jaden decided to get some more information on how some of the remaining Planet users had gotten ahold of their cards.

That morning, Jaden headed over to Lilum to try and find Hiroki so he could find out how he had gotten The Grand Jupiter. Jaden had heard that Hiroki had been training around the youngest of the island's three duel academies since the night of Shizuma's proposal. Of course in addition to finding out how Hiroki had gotten The Grand Jupiter, Jaden also simply wanted to see how Hiroki was doing. After all, Nagisa had practically ripped Hiroki's heart out when she told him about her impending marriage, but then there was no easy way for him to find out about something like that. As annoying as Hiroki's futile attempts to win Nagisa over had been, Jaden couldn't help but feel bad for the guy.

As Jaden neared Lilum's main building, he spotted Chikaru standing in front of a large bulletin board with a worried expression on her face. Jaden decided to go over and see what the trouble was.

"Hey Chikaru!" Jaden called as he walked over, getting the dark-haired girl's attention.

"Oh! Good morning, Jaden," Chikaru responded. "What brings you over to my academy today."

"Well I actually came here to try and find Hiroki, but I wanted to see if you were okay," Jaden answered. "You seemed kinda down."

Chikaru turned back to face the bulletin board. "For the last few nights, students from Lilum have been disappearing. One of the students who vanished has been a friend of mine since I started coming here."

Jaden looked at the bulletin board and saw pictures of the students who had gone missing. There were ten of them in total. Jaden couldn't help but think back to what happened during the Electra incident at Duel Academy America.

"All these girls disappeared during the past week?" Jaden asked.

Chikaru nodded. "And it's not just at this school. Students from Spica and Miator have gone missing as well."

"There's no doubt about it. This is the Light of Destruction's handy work," Yubel noted as she appeared next to Jaden.

"Jaden," Chikaru spoke, look at Jaden with a serious expression. "Do you know something about what might be behind these disappearances?"

Jaden's expression darkened as he turned back to face her. "I don't know any specifics, but I'm pretty sure that this is the work of an old enemy of mine called the Light of Destruction. Unfortunately I don't know what form the Light's taken this time, but I'm trying my best to find out. I'm just sorry it had to show up here on this island. Sometimes it seems like trouble like this follows me wherever I go."

Chikaru smiled and shook her head. "There's no need for you to blame yourself. Besides, you're the hero who saved this island from supernatural disaster two times before. I know that whatever's going on, you're the one who can put a stop to it."

"Thanks," Jaden responded as a small smile came back to his face. "I'll do my best to find out what happened and bring everyone back."

Chikaru nodded. "So, I believe you were looking for Mr. Kitami, correct? I believe he's in one of our stadiums dueling Ms. Rogers. I can take you there if you wish."

"Lena's there too? Great! I kinda need to talk to her too," Jaden replied. "Let's get going."

Within a few minutes, Chikaru and Jaden arrived at one of the smaller duel stadiums in Lilum. Hiroki and Lena's duel was still in progress when they showed up. Hiroki had The Grand Jupiter powered up with United We Stand and Lena's Crab Turtle on his side of the field, while Lena's field was totally empty. Hiroki had 2400 life points left while Lena only had a mere 600.

"Jupiter! Attack Lena directly!" Hiroki commanded. "Great Red Spot!"

Jupiter fired a massive beam of red light from the planet embedded in his chest across the field at Lena. Lena raised her arms to shield herself, but the blast still reduced her life points to zero. With the duel at an end, Jupiter and Crab Turtle vanished from the field.

"Dammit!" Lena cursed. "What the hell just happened?"

"That was an excellent duel, Lena," Hiroki spoke as he approached. "You gave me a good challenge."

"Hiroki! Lena!" Jaden called as he came onto the field with Chikaru, getting their attention. "Looks like I missed one heck of a duel."

"I'm kinda glad you did," Lena remarked. "I can't believe I actually lost to this drip."

"Jaden. If you've come to challenge me to another duel, I'm afraid I cannot accept," Hiroki told him. "As I am now, I do not feel worthy to face you."

"Actually I came here mostly just to see how you were doing," Jaden revealed. "I mean after what happened with Nagisa…"

Hiroki's expression saddened upon hearing the redhead's name. "I thank you for your concern, but I'll be fine in time. I've come to accept that all this time I was merely chasing an illusion. Nagisa's rejection of me still hurts, but I'm cooping with the pain by training myself to be the best duelist I can."

"So it took you getting dumped to become a decent duelist," Lena observed.

"Anyway Jaden, when I finally do become worthy to face you again, I hope that you'll take me on," Hiroki told him.

At this Jaden grinned. "I look forward to it."

"Jaden, wasn't there something you came here to talk to Ms. Rogers about?" Chikaru reminded him.

"Oh yeah! Actually, this was something I wanted to talk to both of you about," Jaden told Lena and Hiroki. "I wanted to know how you guys got your Legendary Planet cards."

"Why do you want to know about that all of a sudden?" Lena asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Please. It's kinda important," Jaden told them with a serious expression.

"I don't know of any reason why you shouldn't know," Hiroki spoke. "I received The Grand Jupiter when I won a tournament at my old academy."

"And who gave the card to you?" Jaden asked. "Was it your academy's principal?"

"Actually, it was Mr. Pegasus who presented the card to me," Hiroki revealed. "He was visiting the academy at the time. After being issued the tournament's actual prize, Mr. Pegasus came to me and said be was impressed with my performance. He then gave me The Grand Jupiter, saying I was the only one worthy of it."

"That's sort of what happened with me," Lena revealed. "I was in Australia competing in a big prize match. I won of course, and that night as I was leaving the stadium, Pegasus flagged me down in the hall and gave me The Tyrant Neptune. He said that the card was a perfect match for me."

"That kinda tracks with everything I already knew," Jaden told them. "With the exception of Shizuma, Rabb, Sheila and Reggie, every one of the Legendary Planet users got their card from Pegasus."

"So what's the big deal?" Lena asked.

"The big deal is that every Legendary Planet user is right here on this island," Jaden answered.

"And you think that has something to do with the recent disappearances?" Chikaru asked.

"It might be connected," Jaden answered. "Pegasus gathered all of the Planet users together for some reason. The problem is he won't say why."

"Perhaps you could ask Reggie Mackenzie's father," Hiroki suggested. "He's one of the Legendary Planet holders too, right? Since he and Mr. Pegasus seem to be good friends, perhaps he knows why Mr. Pegasus gathered the planets here."

"He might be onto something," Yubel told Jaden. "We don't know how Principal Mackenzie ended up with The Supremacy Sun or the three Planet cards he gave to Sheila, Rabb and Mac. It might be worth it to ask him."

"Okay then. Guess I need to pay Principal Mackenzie a little visit," Jaden decided.

* * *

Lunchtime rolled around, and Erica was sitting at her usual table in the corner alone, with a book in one hand and a sandwich in the other. She had been eating alone every day since Keiko had disappeared. Ever since Keiko vanished, life at Spica had become rather lonely for Erica. Though she wasn't a hermit, Erica had never been the most outgoing person. Making friends tended to be difficult for her at times, especially recently after being rejected by Akane. Just as Erica was about to finish reading the page she was on, a shadow fell over her book.

"Excuse me," a voice spoke. Erica looked back to see Amane standing behind her with Shion. "You're Erica Muller, right? Sorry to disturb you, but we need to have talk."

Startled, Erica quickly stood up from her chair. "Uh… Ms. Otori! Ms. Tomori! What, um… what can I do for you?"

Amane smiled. "Relax. There's no need to be so worked up. Mind if we join you?"

"Oh! Um, not at all," Erica responded as she sat back down.

Amane took a seat at the opposite side of the table. Shion sat down next to her. Erica couldn't help but notice the serious expression on Shion's face. She had no idea why half of the Etolie duo and Spica's student council president suddenly wanted to speak with her, but she had a feeling it wasn't good.

"So… what can I do for you?" Erica finally asked.

"Well… we need kind of a big favor from you," Amane began as she rubbed the back of her head.

"What sort of favor?" Erica asked.

Shion let out a heavy sigh. "Unlike Amane here, I'll come straight to the point. We want you to tutor Akane Tsukasa."

Erica's eyes went wide with shock. "You… you WHAT?"

"Whoa! Take it easy, kid," Amane told her. "There's no need to make a scene.

"Look, recently Akane has been having some difficulty in some of her core classes," Shion explained. "Granted, she's never been a Straight-A student, but lately it seems like her grades have started to become even worse. According to the rules of this academy, if a student's academic grades fall too low, they're no longer allowed to compete in tournaments."

"Such a thing could hurt Akane's career as a pro," Amane added.

"Not only that, it would prevent Akane from taking over for Amane here as Etoile in the future," Shion continued. "The fact is Amane won't be around here for too much longer, and neither shall I for that matter. Our graduation from this academy isn't too far away. Before I leave though, it is my duty as president to see to it that the Etoile title stays with Spica."

"I see… but, why come to me then?" Erica asked.

"Because academically, you're currently this school's top student," Shion answered. "Everyone claims that you're some sort of genius. We need that big brain of yours to help Akane improve her grades."

"So Erica? How 'bout it? Will you help us?" Amane asked.

"I… I don't think I can," Erica answered. Her reply caused a look of utter shock rage to form on Shion's face. "You see Akane and I… well we sort of involved briefly with one another and it didn't end well. So I'm afraid you'll…"

Shion pounded her fist into the table, starting the brown-haired girl. "I don't give a damn about what the hell happened between you two! Whatever differences the two of you had, either work them out or just forget about them! You're our best shot at making sure our top student becomes the next Etoile, and I'm not going to let you screw it up!"

Amane sighed and put a hand on Shion's shoulder. "Look Erica. I don't know exactly what happened between you and Akane, but we really need your help with this. Hikari and I are the first Spica duelists ever to become Etoile, and we'd hate to see the title slip back to Miator in the next tournament. You're a Spica student just like us. If you have any pride in this academy, then as Etoile I ask you to put aside whatever issues you have with Akane aside and do what's best for this school."

Erica found that she didn't have a good argument for why she couldn't grant Amane's request. It was true that one of her reasons for coming to Astraea Island was to find love, but she also came because her late uncle helped to found the academies on the island, and because she felt that Spica was the academy where she could excel the most. Now that she was actually a student, she felt that she did have a serious obligation to help ensure that Spica remained at the top.

"I do have some pride in this uniform I wear," Erica admitted. "It'll be difficult, but I'll tutor Akane. And I'll make sure she does well as a student."

* * *

Sheila and Tabitha's day had drastically taken a very odd turn. They were alone together having lunch when Pegasus suddenly showed up and asked them to come with him. The next thing the couple knew they were riding in the back of a jeep with Pegasus in the passenger seat, heading for the same helipad they had landed on when they first came to the island. Within a few short minutes, the jeep arrived at the helipad and the party disembarked.

"Um, Mr. Pegasus? Are you ever going to tell us what this is all about?" Sheila asked.

"Like I told you, it's a surprise," Pegasus cheerily answered. "Just be patient a little longer now."

A few moments later, a helicopter finally came into sight, quickly growing from a tiny speck into a full-sized aircraft. Sheila and Tabitha immediately noted from the helicopter's markings that it was from Kaiba Corp. Both Sheila and Tabitha braced themselves and held tightly to their uniform hats against the blast of wind that hit them when the chopper landed. It wasn't long at all before the propellers stopped spinning and the side door opened. Walking out was a woman with long red hair and green eyes, wearing a white blouse with a blue blazer and a blue skirt that ended just above the knees.

Sheila's eyes widened in surprise upon seeing the woman. "No way! Mom?"

Tabitha flinched upon learning the woman's identity. "That's your mother? You never said she'd be coming here!"

"I didn't know anything about this!" Sheila told her.

Pegasus came and met Sheila's mother as she came towards the party. "Gloria Tate! It's been too long."

"It's good to see you too, Mr. Pegasus," Gloria responded as she shook Pegasus's hand. She soon looked past Pegasus to Sheila. "There's my girl! Come on over Sheila! It's been way too long since I last saw you."

Sheila nervously took Tabitha by the hand and came over with her. "Hi Mom. What're you doing here?"

"Well I am of course party here to see you, but I am also here on business," Gloria answered. "By the way, who's your friend?"

"Oh! Um, this is Tabitha Greene," Sheila answered. "She's a very, very good friend of mine, and also my plus-one to this Founders Festival thing."

"Uh… it's nice to meet you, Mrs. Tate," Tabitha nervously greeted. Practically all of the color had drained from the dark-haired girl's face.

At that moment, another figure stepped out of the helicopter. The person in question was a handsome-looking young man with fair skin, well-trimmed black hair and blue-grey eyes. He had on what looked like a black naval uniform with gold epilates, and a black duel disk with white trim adorned his left arm.

The man headed straight towards Sheila and held out his hand. "You must be Mrs. Tate's daughter. I've been hearing so much about you on the way here. My name's Clayton Thorne."

"Um… charmed," Sheila replied as she shook Clayton's hand.

"Clayton is one of the top students of Duel Academy London," Gloria revealed. "I've sort of taken a personal interest in him and thought it'd be a good experience for him to visit this island."

"Indeed. I've heard so many interesting stories about the academies on this island," Clayton revealed. "In fact I'm most interesting in meeting these Etoile I've read about."

Gloria then leaned closer to whisper to Sheila. "He's also the soon of a English duke. Not quite royalty but pretty close."

"Oh god!" Sheila groaned under her breath.

"So Gloria. I was very much surprised when I got your call saying you'd be coming here," Pegasus spoke. "Whatever is the reason for your visit?"

"Well as I just said, part of it is to see my daughter. I was thrilled when I heard she was one of the visitors for this island's little festival or whatever it is. But I'm mainly here on business," Gloria answered. "As you know, I'm the Kaiba Corp executive in charge of overseeing all of our company's duel academies."

"Well yes, but the last time I checked, the academies on Astraea Island are under the supervision of my company," Pegasus pointed out. "Though the duel disk technology is provided by your company, of course."

"That's not in dispute. The reason I'm here is to deal with an issue related to Duel Academy America," Gloria revealed. "I'm here to see that Herbert Mackenzie is removed from his position as principal."

* * *

After meeting up with Alexis, Jaden arrived at Principal Mackenzie's temporary office in Spica with Hiroki, Lena and Chikaru. The five arrived to see that Principal Mackenzie was not only available, but more than willing to see them. Jaden and the others entered the room to find Principal Mackenzie sitting behind a desk looking over some paper, but he quickly put them down when he saw them come in.

"Jaden! To what do I owe this unexpected visit?" Principal Mackenzie spoke.

"I hope we're not interrupting your work," Jaden spoke.

"Not at all. Please, have a seat," Principal Mackenzie told them. "So what can I do for you?"

"We were wondering something about the Legendary Planet cards," Jaden explained as he and Alexis sat down in the two chairs in front of his desk. Chikaru, Lena and Hiroki meanwhile sat down on a large lavender couch against one of the walls. "We wanted to know how you ended up with The Supremacy Sun and the cards you gave to Sheila, Rabb and Reggie."

"This morning Jaden learned that Pegasus was the one who gave out most of the other Legendary Planet cards, with the exception of Elemental Hero Terra Firma," Alexis added. "We wanted to know if Pegasus gave you the other four."

Principal Mackenzie leaned back in his chair and tented his fingers. "I obtained the four Planet cards originally in my possession from their creator, Erich Muller. He was an old friend of mine, you see. In fact he created The Supremacy Sun specifically with me in mind. He also left me with The Splendid Venus, The Big Saturn and The Despair Uranus hoping that I'd eventually find duelists suitable to wield them."

"Why did Erich Muller even make the Legendary Planets?" Jaden asked.

"I'm afraid I have no idea," Principal Mackenzie answered. "Erich was brilliant but eccentric, not unlike Maximillion Pegasus. Perhaps it's a common trait among card creators. It did seem though that Erich had created the Legendary Planets for some purpose other than normal dueling. They're peculiar cards. All of them are part of the same archetype, yet virtually impossible to use together in a single deck. There's clearly more to them than meets the eye."

"You're probably wondering why we're suddenly asking you about this," Alexis assumed.

"Not really. You've obviously realized the same thing that I have. That all of the Legendary Planet cards are here together on this island," Principal Mackenzie replied. "Like me, you've been trying to determine the purpose for this gathering."

"We think Mr. Pegasus probably knows the secret behind the Legendary Planets, but he's keeping quiet about it," Alexis explained.

Principal Mackenzie scowled. "Well that's not surprising. He's of course totally left me in the dark about all this. But that man usually seems to be playing some kind of game. Do you have any ideas about what this might all be about?"

"We think it might have something to do with the Light of Destruction," Jaden revealed. "It's been active here on the island."

A look of shock formed on Principal Mackenzie's face as he slowly rose from his chair. "You mean the creature that Electra Darkling is alive and here on this island."

"Zott, the Demon God of Light was only one incarnation of the Light of Destruction," Jaden explained. "Whatever form the Light is in now is totally different."

"What the hell is this light thing that you guys are talking about?" Lena asked.

"It's a very long story," Alexis answered.

Principal Mackenzie sat back in his chair and sighed. "To think I would be confronted with that demon again. And just when I thought my hands were at last clean of that dark past."

Suddenly the door to the office burst open and Gloria stormed in. Pegasus followed close behind, along with Sheila, Tabitha and Clayton.

"What is the meaning of this?" Principal Mackenzie demanded to know as he rose from his chair.

"Herbert Mackenzie, I'm Gloria Tate. As the overseer of all Kaiba Corp duel academies, I'm here to relieve you of your position," the redhead explained.

"On what grounds?" Principal Mackenzie asked.

"You're kidding, right? Does the name, Electra Darkling ring any bells?" Gloria asked. "From all reports I've read, that woman was responsible for the disappearance of several academy students in your care. Plus it seems like she was involved in some sort of strange occult stuff, and you let all that happen under your nose! In my book, that makes you totally unfit to run one of our academies, especially the academy that my own daughter attends."

"None of what happened back then was Principal Mackenzie's fault!" Jaden cut in as he rose from his chair.

"You must be one of the other visiting pros," Gloria indifferently observed. "And a graduate from our main academy judging from your uniform, though how someone who graduated at the Slifer Red level ended up getting invited to a function like this is beyond me. Anyway, I don't know why you're sticking up for this man, but just keep your nose out of this like a good little boy."

"Mom! Don't talk to Jaden that way!" Sheila cut in. "Not only is he one of the strongest duelists here, he's the one responsible for getting rid of that Electra woman!"

"Oh! I'm sorry sweetie. I didn't realize this young man was a friend of yours," Gloria responded. "Look, I'll admit that I don't have the whole picture here, but it seems that Mr. Mackenzie here is unfit to continue running a duel academy."

"Madam, I will admit that I am partly responsible for what happened during Electra Darkling's time at my academy, but I was not myself back then," Principal Mackenzie told her. "Ever since I was freed from that… that creature's influence by young Mr. Yuki here, I have worked tirelessly to make up for all the misdeeds I committed. I still have much to make up for, therefore I will not step down!"

Gloria let out a heavy sigh. "Look you…"

"I have a suggestion, if you don't mind," Pegasus interjected as he raised his hand. "How about we have Herbert duel someone? That should help show his fitness to keep running a duel academy. If he wins, he gets to keep his position. Meanwhile if he loses, he'll step aside without any fuss. Does that sound fair?"

"That is agreeable to me," Principal Mackenzie answered.

"Hmm… okay. That seems like a good arrangement," Gloria agreed. "But I get to choose his opponent."

"Fair enough," Pegasus replied. "I suppose you'll have him duel young Mr. Thorne here?"

Gloria held her chin in thought for a moment, and then smirked. "No. I have someone a whole lot better in mind. We'll hold the duel tomorrow afternoon. Meanwhile, I should go wrangle my little champion. Sheila, I trust I'll see you later tonight at dinner. We have a lot to catch up on."

"I'm brining Tabitha, if that's okay," Sheila told her.

"Oh sure. Bring your little friend," Gloria indifferently replied as she headed back for the door. "Come along Clayton. I may need your help convincing the duelist I have in mind to help us."

"Not at all, ma'am," Clayton replied as he followed after her.

"Terribly sorry about all this, Herbert," Pegasus told Principal Mackenzie. "Unfortunately what Mrs. Tate does is out of my hands."

"It's quite alright, Maximillion," Principal Mackenzie told him.

"Well… I have other business to attend to right now, so I should be off," Pegasus told everyone. "Ta-ta."

With that, Pegasus left the room. Principal Mackenzie sat back in his chair and sighed as he folded his hands on his desk.

"Principal Mackenzie, I'm really sorry about my mom trying to get you fired," Sheila told her.

"It's quite alright, Ms. Tate. None of this is your fault," Principal Mackenzie told her.

"No offence Tate, but your mom seems like kind of a bitch," Lena remarked.

"She's not…" Sheila began, and then sighed. "Look, my mom means well, but sometimes she feels like she has to meddle. Particularly when it comes to my life. Hell, she brought that Thorne guy here for me as a potential husband."

"She what!" a shocked Tabitha exclaimed.

"Oh! Hey! Don't worry babe. A guy like that doesn't interest me at all," Sheila assured her. "But anyway, the problem with my mom is that once she gets set on an idea of how she thinks things should be, it's really hard to get her to back off."

"So there's nothing we can do about this then," Alexis realized.

"This is something that I must deal with on my own," Principal Mackenzie told them. "This is a test for me to see if I'm truly worthy of remaining principal after all the misdeeds I committed, and I intend to do everything in my power to pass it."

* * *

Erica sat nervously at a large table in Miator's library waiting for Akane to show up. A part of her hoped that Akane would blow her off; something that seemed likely to happen given what she'd heard of the dark-haired beauty's recent attitudes. Though the senior Etoile and the student council president had given her an important job, Erica had to face the fact that she just wasn't ready to face Akane again yet. Despite this, Erica was determined to see this job through to the end for the good of her academy, no matter how much it hurt.

"Hey there, stranger," a familiar voice spoke. Erica turned around and couldn't help but gasp when she saw that Akane had indeed arrived. "Haven't seen you for a while."

A sour look formed on Erica's face as she looked away from the older girl. "Just sit down so we can get started."

Akane shrugged and sat down in a chair at the corner of the table. "What's got you so cranky."

"…I'm surprised you actually showed up," Erica remarked. "From everything I've been told, you don't take your studies very seriously."

"Well I partly came here to see you again," Akane told her. "I figure with a cute instructor like you, studying might be more fun."

"We're not here to play games," Erica sternly told her as she handed Akane a sheet of paper. "Now we'll start with math, since this is the subject you seem to be struggling in the most. To start with, I want you to try solving these problems so I can get a better idea of your current skill level."

Surprised by Erica's reaction, Akane sighed and turned her attention to the sheet of paper. Erica waited patiently as Akane worked on the problems. As she did so, Erica couldn't help but admire the dark-haired girl's beauty. Try as she might, Erica couldn't help but admit that she was still strongly attracted to Akane. Yet this attraction caused her nothing but pain, because Erica knew that there was nothing there for her. Akane had rejected her, and nothing she did could change that.

"Hey Erica," Akane spoke as she suddenly rose from her chair. "I'm kind of stuck on this one problem. Think you can help me?"

Erica sighed. "Which problem is it?"

Akane came up next to Erica's chair and leaned over her as she set the paper down in front of her. "It's this one right here."

"The… the third one?" Erica asked as she picked up the sheet and looked at it.

Akane leaned in much closer and pointed at part of the sheet. "No. That one there."

As Erica looked at the problem Akane was talking about, she found that her heart was pounding like a jackhammer. Akane's close proximity to her was driving her wild, so much so she was finding it practically impossible to concentrate on anything else.

Suddenly Akane took a whiff of Erica's hair and leaned in close to whisper in her ear. "You smell real nice."

Startled and outraged, Erica shot up from her chair and pushed Akane away. The dark-haired girl kept herself from falling, but looked startled and hurt.

"Hey! What the hell!" Akane protested.

"Dammit! I'm not in any mood for whatever games you want to play!" Erica snapped. "You made it clear to me before about how you feel about me, so quit trying to toy with me!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Akane asked.

At that moment, one of the student librarians came over and shushed the two. Erica looked around and saw that they were making a scene.

Erica sighed and sat back down. "We came here to work, so let's focus on that. Now sit down so we can get through with this."

After a moment, Akane sighed and sat back down in her chair. Erica handed the sheet of math problems back to her and then began reading from a book she had brought with. Akane attempted to say something, but it quickly became crystal clear that the younger girl wasn't at all interested in hearing it. Akane turned her attention back to her paper, feeling confused and miserable.

* * *

Reggie and Atticus were walking past Spica's track field talking about where they should go once the Founders Festival was done. As they rounded past the corner of the track, Jaden and Alexis rushed up to them. Right away, the couple could tell that Jaden and Alexis had come with troubling news.

"Hey you two. What's up?" Atticus asked.

"Mac, your dad's in danger of losing his job as principal," Jaden told Reggie. "A woman from Kaiba Corp came here to fire him."

"Fire my dad? Why?" a surprised Reggie asked.

"She blames Principal Mackenzie for what happened during Electra's time at the school," Alexis explained.

"That's nuts!" Atticus exclaimed. "None of that was Mr. Mackenzie's fault. That demon bitch had him, Mac and Rabb under some kind of spell!"

"I don't think that explanation will fly," Jaden told them. "This woman's a Kaiba Corp executive. The kind of world we deal with isn't something she'd easily believe."

"Mac, we've gotta do something about this," Atticus told her.

"And what exactly could we do?" Reggie asked.

"This is your dad's job we're talking about!" Atticus pointed out. "We've got to do something!"

"Reggie Mackenzie! Just the woman I wanted to see," a voice interrupted. Reggie and the others looked to see Gloria standing with Clayton. "I'm Gloria Tate, executive in charge of overseeing all Kaiba Corp duel academies."

"You're the woman who's come here to fire my dad, huh?" Reggie deduced.

"I take no pleasure in it, but clearly your father is unfit to continue as headmaster of Duel Academy America," Gloria responded. "But I think you know that better than anyone."

"So what do you want with me?" Reggie asked.

"We've arranged a little test for your father to judge if he's fit to continue as principal," Gloria explained. "He can keep his job if he defeats an opponent of my choosing, and I've decided that you're just the girl for the job."

"What? You can't be serious!" Jaden protested.

"Reggie, I know for a fact that your relationship with your father has been rather frosty," Gloria continued. "And as a former student of Duel Academy America, you probably no more than anyone how bad a job your father has done running the place. That's why you're the perfect duelist to get him kicked out of his office."

"Sorry. Not interested," Reggie told her. "I'll admit my dad and I aren't all that close, but while he may have made some mistakes, I have no interest in helping you fire him."

Gloria let out a heavy sigh. "I was hoping we could do this the easy way, so it looked like you'll need some convincing."

"Which is where I step in," Clayton spoke as he came forward. "Ms. Mackenzie, your family loyalty is admirable, but Mrs. Tate is working towards a greater good. She needs your assistance, and thus I've been asked to help convince you to help."

"And just who the hell are you?" Reggie asked.

"Thorne, Clayton. Duel Academy London," the dark-haired duelist answered. "And I hereby issue you a challenge. Defeat me in a duel, and Mrs. Tate and I will simply walk away and find someone else to aid in her cause. If however I am victorious, you'll have no choice but to help."

"Sorry. Not interested," Reggie told him. "You're forget that I'm a pro while you're still just a student. I could probably wipe the floor with you."

"Well then, how 'bout you duel me instead?" a voice interrupted. Jaden and the others looked and saw that Pegasus had arrived on the scene. "I think I'd make a much more challenging opponent for you, don't you think?"

"What the… Mr. Pegasus? Why're you suddenly helping to get Mac's dad fired?" Jaden asked.

"Who says that's what I'm trying to do?" Pegasus innocently responded. "I'm merely trying to see that this situation is resolved as simply and quickly as possible. After all, this little problem is ruining the festival."

"He's up to something else," Yubel told Jaden and Alexis as she appeared behind them. "I don't know how, but Pegasus has to be using this situation to further whatever game he's playing with the Legendary Planets."

"Well Reggie-girl? Think you have what it takes to face me?" Pegasus asked as he activated the duel disk on his arm. "After all, it's not every day that the creator of this very game comes to challenge you."

After a moment, Reggie stepped forward and activated her duel disk in response. "Fine. I can take you on."

"Just to be clear though, if you lose to Mr. Pegasus here, you'll have to duel your father for me tomorrow," Gloria told her.

"…Fine then. A bet like that's worth it for a chance to beat the creator of Duel Monsters," Reggie agreed.

"I like your attitude!" Pegasus praised as he drew his first card. "But don't think it'll be that easy to beat me. For my first move, I play the Spell card, Pot of Greed and draw two cards! Next I activate the Spell card, Toon Table of Contents! With this card, I'm able to add any card with the word, Toon in its title to my hand! And now I banish the top five cards from my deck to play the card I just added to my hand with Toon Table of Contents! Welcome to Toon Kingdom!"

Appearing with a large puff of pink smoke behind Pegasus was a giant book with a green cover. The book opened itself up to the middle, and popping up from the pages was a castle that appeared to be made of brown brick, complete with a drawbridge and a barred gate on the front. The castle had a cartoonish quality to it.

"Because Toon Kingdom is treated as Toon World, I'm able to special summon Toon Mermaid from my hand!" Pegasus announced.

Materializing on Pegasus's side of the field was a cartoonish grey clam with eyes towards the back of the top half of its shell. Inside the clam's mouth was a mermaid with tan skin and, an oddly rubbery body, and a cartoony face. She had long green hair, a blue tail, and a clamshell bra covering her chest. In her oddly proportioned left hand, the mermaid held a red bow.

"I also special summon a second Toon Mermaid in Attack Mode!" Pegasus announced. On cue, a second mermaid caricature in the mouth of a cartoonish clam appeared on the field. "Next I sacrifice both mermaids to summon Toon Dark Magician in Attack Mode!"

Both mermaids shattered into particles of gold light as twister of pink wind surrounded them. The twister quickly died away to reveal a small humanoid figure with blue-green skin and a head that was slightly large for its oddly proportioned body. He had large blue eyes and straight blonde hair. On his head was a blue conical hat with red trim that covered forward. The rest of his outfit was a sort of blue bodysuit with blue armor covering his shoulders and the back of his head, and a blue breechcloth that hung down in front of his waist. In his right hand, the cartoon wizard held an ornate blue staff with red trim and a round green gemstone fitted into the top.

"I heard that Maximillion Pegasus was a bit eccentric and used some sort of cartoon deck, but this is just weird," Gloria remarked.

"I say Mr. Pegasus! That monster you just played is a mockery to the great Yugi Muto!" Clayton protested.

"Oh come now Clayton, my boy. I'm paying Yugi-boy my highest compliment by making a Toon version of his ace monster," Pegasus told him. "I've taken the famed Dark Magician and made him even more powerful, as you're about to see. I activate Toon Dark Magician's effect and discard a Toon card from my hand to summon a Toon monster from my deck, ignoring its summoning conditions! I discard Toon Cannon Soldier to summon the adorable Red-Eyes Toon Dragon!"

"Hah!" Toon Dark Magcian cried as he dramatically aimed his staff at a spot in the air in front of him.

A large black top hat with a yellow question mark on the front appeared in front of the cartoon wizard with a burst of pink smoke. Toon Dark Magician tossed his staff to his other hand before reaching into the hat with his right arm. The wizard stuck his tongue out as he rummaged around in the hat for a few moments trying to find what he was looking for. Coming from inside the hat were several loud noises as though it were filled with an endless sea of junk.

"Ah-ha!" Toon Dark Magician cried with a smile as he finally pulled out a creature by the scruff of the neck.

The creature in question was a fairly small black dragon with an oversized head. Its red eyes were extremely large and also quite crazed. The cartoony dragon let out an impish snicker as Toon Dark Magician released it.

"Isn't he the cutest thing?" Pegasus praised. "He's far more cuddly than the original Red-Eyes Black Dragon."

"Not cool!" Atticus declared as he crossed his arms.

"He better not have made a cartoon version of me," Yubel told Jaden and Alexis.

"Or me!" Neos added as he suddenly appeared before Jaden and Alexis in spirit form with his arms crossed.

"I activate my Red-Eyes Toon Dragon's effect!" Pegasus announced. "Once per turn, Red-Eyes lets me special summon a Toon monster from my hand, regardless of its summoning conditions. I use this effect to call forth the Toon Summoned Skull!"

Red-Eyes Toon Dragon turned around and fired a small red cloud from his mouth at the castle of Toon Kingdom. As soon as the ball of smoke hit, cartoonish grey clouds suddenly appeared above the castle and shot down bolts of yellow lightning. Suddenly bursting from the castle's roof with a mad laugh was the upper body of a cartoonish demon with greenish-grey skin. Its torso was a ribcage, while its head was a skull with large crazed yellow eyes, a large fanged mouth, and curved horns on its sides. A pair of bat-like wings was attached to the cartoon demon's back, and its slender arms ended with sets of three claws.

"Sadly, none of my Toons can attack on the turn they've been summoned," Pegasus announced. "But since I can't attack on the first turn anyway, it's not an issue. I'll just end my turn here. Okay Reggie-girl. Show me what you've got."

"Pegasus is really going all out," Jaden remarked. "And those Toon monsters of his may look weird, but they can attack Mac directly even if she has monsters out on the field."

"True, but Pegasus practically used up his whole hand to get all three of those Toons out," Alexis pointed out. "And it doesn't seem like he has a defense ready in case Mac has a card that can wipe out his field. It seems like kind of a reckless move."

"That's what the psycho wants us to think," Yubel told them. "It's not wise to underestimate someone like him."

Reggie drew her first card. "I activate the Spell card, Graceful Charity and draw three cards before discarding two! Next I play Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen!"

Appearing behind Reggie was what looked like part of an ornate throne room with Roman pillars and a red curtain covering the far wall. Yet there was no ceiling over the structure. It was as though the construction of whatever castle that room was supposed to go with had stopped.

"Since I have no monsters on the field, Valhalla lets me special summon a Fairy monster from my hand!" Reggie announced. "I use this effect to summon Shatiel in Defense Mode!"

Appearing on Reggie's side of the battlefield in a kneeling position was a muscular male warrior with silver hair and a pair of white angelic wings. He was clad in white and gold armor and carried a large round golden shield.

"As long as Shatiel is on the field, all my Fairy monsters gain 400 ATK and DEF." Reggie continued. "Next I play Monster Reborn and revive a Fairy monster from the Graveyard! Ascend! The Splendid Venus!"

A dazzling flash of golden light suddenly washed out the area behind Reggie. The light died down a little, and floating behind her was a large angelic figure with four white-feathered wings on her back. She had a white mask-like face with a pointed golden helmet and robes that looked as though they were made of golden armor. Her large ornate skirt consisted of several gold plates. In her left hand she carried a long golden staff with a ring at the top that had a cross with a green gem in the center.

"Venus decreases the ATK of all non-Fairy monsters on the field by 500," Reggie announced. "And since I have two Fairies on the field, Shatiel's effect raises Venus's ATK from 2800 to 3600!"

Toon Dark Magician suddenly seemed to panic, dropped his staff to the ground, and suddenly began to grovel before Venus as though begging for mercy. Red-Eyes Toon Dragon immediately did the same thing. Meanwhile Toon Summoned Skull quickly covered his face with his rubbery three-clawed hands.

"Venus! Attack Red-Eyes Toon Dragon!" Reggie commanded. "Holy Feather Shower!"

"I activate Toon Kingdom's effect!" Pegasus announced. "When a Toon monster would be destroyed, Toon Kingdom lets me banish the top card from my deck to negate that destruction!"

Venus gave off a dazzling flash of gold light as she fired a storm of feathers from her wings across the field at Red-Eyes. The feathers impacted the cartoon dragon and created a massive explosion. Damage from the attack dropped Pegasus's life points to 2300. When the smoke cleared though, Red-Eyes Toon Dragon was still on the field. The impish dragon opened one of his eyes, and upon realizing he was okay, flew into the air and joyously breathed out small puffs of black smoke. Toon Dark Magician meanwhile leapt back to his feet and let out a triumphant laugh as he put his hands on his hips.

"Disgraceful," Clayton quietly remarked.

"Yeah, well… we need Pegasus to win to get Mackenzie's daughter to work with us, so suck it up," Gloria told him.

"At least Mac was able to take a big chunk out of Pegasus's life points," Atticus observed.

"Yeah. But it won't matter if she can't block Pegasus's next attack," Jaden told him. "All of those Toons can attack her directly. Venus may have lowered their ATK points, but they're still strong enough to wipe her out in one shot."

"I'll set one card on the field and end my turn!" Reggie announced.

"Really?" Pegasus asked with a look of surprise. "Well that was a tad anticlimactic. I was somehow expecting more."

"Don't sell me short," Reggie told him.

Pegasus shrugged and drew his next card. "I activate the Spell card, Polymerization! Using this card, I combine my Toon Summoned Skull and Red-Eyes Toon Dragon to summon Toon Black Skull Dragon!"

Toon Summoned Skull suddenly receded into the castle of Toon Kingdom, with Red-Eyes flying into the hole in the castle's roof after him. Suddenly the castle began to move and twitch as loud clattering noises came from within. After a few moments the noises stopped, and the castle's gate rose. Another second went by before something large shot out of the gate onto the field. The object in question was Pegasus's cartoon dragon in a brand new form.

His body was the same greenish-grey color as Toon Summoned Skull. The dragon's neck had grown longer and had a row of small spikes traveling down the length of the back. His head meanwhile had become more skull-like with a pair of thick horns that curved forward. The dragon's large bat-like wings had become a dark-grey, and his hands and feet ended with sets of three long dark-grey claws. The dragon had a pair of psychotic yellow and red eyes, and a long pink tongue hung out of his mouth.

"Toon Fusion? I didn't expect anything like that!" a surprised Jaden spoke.

"My Toon Black Skull Dragon may only have 2700 ATK right now thanks to the effect of The Splendid Venus, but he can still attack you directly!" Pegasus announced. "Toon Black Skull Dragon! Blow Reggie-girl's life points away! Toon Meteor Flare!"

A large ball of black flames suddenly formed in the demented dragon's jaws and began to grow larger.

"I activate my Trap! Heaven's Denial!" Reggie announced. "When my opponent attacks while I have at least one Fairy on the field, this card returns every one of my opponent's face-up monsters to the deck! Then, if I also control Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen, Heaven's Denial inflicts 1000 points of damage for each monster that's been cast out!"

Suddenly a ray of golden light came down from the sky above and washed out Pegasus's side of the field. Both of Pegasus's Toons suddenly faded away like smoke, and his life points plummeted to 300.

"Oh no!" Pegasus cried. "Well… in that case I'll just set one card on the field and end my turn."

Reggie smirked. "Not such a pushover now, huh?"

At this, Pegasus smirked. "Oh Reggie-girl… you're a powerful duelist, but you're about to see that you have a ways to go."

Scowling, Reggie drew her next card. "I've had about as much of this as I can stand! Venus! Attack Pegasus directly! Holy Feather Shower!"

"I activate my Trap! Toon Cannon!" Pegasus announced. "By banishing a Toon from my Graveyard, Toon Cannon destroys all of my opponents monsters and deals damage equal to half their original ATK! I banish Toon Cannon Soldier to load the cannon and blow your monsters away!"

Just as Venus was about to launch an attack, the gate of Toon Kingdom's castle opened up again. Extending out of the gate was the short black barrel of a cannon. The cannon fired a small black cannon ball with a white skull painted on the front and a lit fuse on the back. It didn't seem like the projectile would do much damage, but the moment it struck the ground on Reggie's side of the field it created a huge mushroom cloud. The smoke faded and Reggie stood with a shocked expression; her blonde hair unkempt and soot covering her face and uniform. Reggie's life points had also taken a steep drop to 2350.

"Since you seem to be out of moves, I'll go ahead and begin my next turn," Pegasus decided as he drew his next card. "First I play Spellbooks from the Pot, allowing us both to draw three more cards. Next I play the Spell card, Toon Rerun! This card lets me return two Toon monsters in my Graveyard to my hand! I use Toon Rerun to take back Toon Summoned Skull and Red-Eyes Toon Dragon!"

"Not good!" Jaden declared. "If Pegasus plays the card I think he's going to play, then…"

"I activate another copy of Polymerization and combine Toon Summoned Skull and Red-Eyes Toon Dragon in my hand to bring Toon Black Skull Dragon back to the field!" Pegasus announced.

A vortex of black smoke suddenly appeared above Toon Kingdom Castle. A moment lager, Toon Black Skull Dragon flew out of the field and let out a mad laugh.

"Toon Black Skull Dragon! Attack her directly!" Pegasus commanded. "Toon Meteor Flare!"

The cartoon demon dragon spewed out a large black fireball down at Reggie. When the projectile reached its target, it created a massive explosion. The smoke cleared and Reggie's life points had dropped to zero. With the duel at an end, Pegasus's Toon cards vanished from the field.

Pegasus clapped slowly as he walked towards Reggie. "You gave a fair performance, Reggie-girl but I'm afraid you've confirmed something I've been concerned about. It seems lately that your skills as a duelist have been lacking. I don't know if it's because of the incident with Electra Darkling or something else, but you need to make some changes in the way you duel if you want to go farther."

"Well I hope you're at least good enough to take down your father," Gloria interrupted. "You remember the terms of that little duel, right Ms. Mackenzie? You now have to duel your father for us to see if he's fit to keep his job."

Reggie gritted her teeth. "Yeah. I know."

"Before you face your father, I have some cards for you to help improve your deck," Pegasus told Reggie as he handed her a deck of cards he took from inside his jacket.

Reggie took the cards, and as she began to look them over, a look of surprise formed on her face. "These are…"

Pegasus smiled and handed Reggie another card. "I also made this card to go with them. It should help you to reach your full potential."

Reggie took the card and became even more surprised upon looking at it. "You made this card just for me, didn't you?"

"But of course," Pegasus confirmed.

"I'll arrange the duel to happen tomorrow afternoon in one of the Spica stadiums," Gloria announced. "In fact I'll even open it up for the students and faculty to watch. Oh, and Ms. Mackenzie? I don't want to see you throwing the match to try and give your father a break."

"Don't worry, Mrs. Tate," Reggie told her. "I'm not going to show my dad any mercy."

"I can't believe this is actually happening," Alexis remarked. "And for Pegasus to just help that woman like that."

"He only helped her to further his own plans," Yubel reminded her. "Though I have no clue what he's up to."

"I think I know," Neos spoke. "Pegasus might be using this situation to try and make Reggie stronger."

"But why?" Jaden asked.

"It must have something to do with the Legendary Planets," Yubel assumed. "This may sound out there, but what if the Legendary Planets were made as weapons to fight whatever incarnation of the Light of Destruction?"

"That would make sense," Jaden admitted. "But if Pegasus is using this situation as a way to train Reggie to fight against the Light, it's a pretty crummy way to go about it."

* * *

Unbeknownst to Jaden and the others, David had been watching Reggie's duel against Pegasus from the beginning from the very edge of the track. He also knew about the terms that the duel had been under and was outraged. As Jaden and the others all began to leave, David stormed off towards Spica. On his way towards the building, Kaname suddenly came from around a nearby tree.

"Out for a stroll Rabb?" Kaname asked.

"I've got no time to chat with you, Kaname!" David told her as he stormed past.

"Geez! What's got you in such a bad mood?" Kaname asked as she started to follow after him.

"The man who I consider a father is getting a raw deal!" David answered. "I'm going to do everything I can to stop that from happening! Even if it means beating the crap out of the woman who's causing all this!"

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I'm honestly surprised that I was able to get this chapter done this week, mainly because of how long it ended up being. There was a lot to set up, plus I had the little subplot with Erica and Akane. Incidentally, the idea of having Erica tutor Akane is based on how Shizuma had to tutor Nagisa in french in Strawberry Crisis and the Strawberry Panic anime. Of course for these two I decided to flip the script.

Throughout this story, I've been trying to give each Legendary Planet user some time in the spotlight. The story arc we're in now though is also meant to tie up some more of the loose ends from _Ritual of Doom_. As for how Sheila's mother ended up being the one to force Reggie and her father to deal with their issues, I don't remember how I came up with that idea. I decided to go with it though because it also allowed me to do some more stuff with Sheila and Tabitha. Anyway, let's go over some of the card from Reggie and Pegasus's duel that are exclusive to this story.

 **Toon Black Skull Dragon**

DARK/Dragon/Toon/Fusion/Effect/9/ATK 3200/DEF 2500

"Toon Summoned Skull" + "Red-Eyes Toon Dragon"

(This card is always treated as an "Archfiend" card.)

Destroy this card during your End Phase if you do not control "Toon World". While you control "Toon World" and your opponent controls no Toon monsters, this card can attack your opponent directly.

 **Toon Rerun**

Spell Card

Target up to 2 Toon monsters in your Graveyard: Add them to your hand.

 **Toon Cannon**

Trap Card

Banish 1 Toon monster from your Graveyard: Destroy all Special Summoned monsters your opponent controls and inflicts damage equal to half their original ATK. You can only activate this card while you control Toon World.

I feel like I took kind of a risk with Toon Black Skull Dragon because it seems like something that Konami might actually make into a real card one day. I mean with the materials for the original Black Skull Dragon both having Toon counterparts, I'm surprised that Konami hasn't done anything like that already.

Incidentally, I had originally thought of having Pegasus use Millennium-Eyes Restrict in this duel, but the activation of its effect is kind of conditional and I wanted to keep this duel as simple as possible with all the other stuff I had happening in the chapter. Plus having him use the Toons against Reggie somehow seemed more appropriate. Speaking of Reggie, here's the one original card she used in this duel.

 **Heaven's Denial**

Trap Card

When an opponent's monster attacks while you control at least 1 Fairy monster: Negate that attack and return each face-up monster your opponent controls to the deck. If you control "Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen" when this effect resolves, inflict 1000 points of damage to your opponent for each monster returned to their deck.

This was a card that I came up with on the fly while writing this duel. It's probably not the most original card I've created, but it served the purpose of clearing Pegasus's field and seemingly putting him on the ropes.

The story arc we're in now focuses not simply on Reggie and her father, but on the whole Mackenzie family, which David is technically a part of. Our next episode will focus on David as he tries to put a stop to Gloria's plans. Until then, stay tuned.

In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.


End file.
